Facing the Sun
by NinjirateGirl
Summary: The business world has never been such a pain-or so much fun-as it is when Naruto is a part of it! And when Hinata is hired to share the adventure, she discovers what makes them so different, and that opposites really do attract. AU, NaruHina
1. Supreme Ruler

I _do_ own Naruto, at least inside my head. Masashi Kishimoto owns him in the real world though.

_Chapter One_

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><p>He was going to drive her crazy. Possibly in a good way, but still undeniably, unacceptably crazy.<p>

This blonde boy with oddly spiked hair and bright blue eyes. This boy with a large grin as he introduced himself as her boss. This boy was _her age_, and was going to be her boss? How did she get mixed up in this?

She was dressed to impress, in a maroon blazer and matching skirt, with a champagne shirt underneath. He was dressed…to laze around the house. His black sweatpants were tattered at the heel, and his orange tee was baggy, but clean.

He was still grinning as she pondered this, his eyes closed and his hands intertwined behind his head.

She figured it would make a better impression if she spoke up. "Uhm, so…I guess you already know…I'm Hinata Hyuuga." He opened his eyes, which held a hint of disapproval, and she felt her chances of a good first impression go down the drain.

"You're gonna hafta speak louder than that, unless you wanna get run over around here." He said truthfully. His grammar was awful. Not that she was a grammar snob or anything, but she figured a boss, even one so young, would sound more…authoritative. "So, Mr. Uzumaki—?"

"Please, anything but that!" he recoiled dramatically, "I prefer Supreme Ruler, but at least call me Naruto." _Supreme Ruler…? _Anyone else would have rolled their eyes at the fact that a twenty-one year old man would refer to himself as Supreme Ruler, but Hinata actually found it kind of endearing, and held her hand in a way that covered her smile.

"Ah, S-Supreme Ruler, sir?"

"That's more like it! What is it?"

"Well, I uh…I j-just…."

"Are we gonna have to play a game of charades or something? Because I'd be more than happy to!" Again, hardly professional, but Hinata didn't do well under pressure anyways and quite enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. "Well, it's just that I don't really know what my job _is_, sir."

Her father, a business mogul who owned more franchises than Hinata could count, insisted that she get a high-ranking job, since she disapproved of every business he owned. Cutting forests, selling furs, laying highways, and basically any other environmentally-harmful activities were foremost on the list, although he owned everything from restaurants to shoe stores. When she refused (although _refused_ might be a bit strong, maybe more like stammered until he gave up) to work in his office, he set her in the first large important-looking building he could find (and there were a lot to choose from) and ordered her to get a job there. Fortunately she did, and a week later was introduced to her new "boss," Naruto Uzumaki. Although she was never told what the job was. All the man working at the desk had said was, "_Your resume looks good, so be back here in a week, same time same place." _

"Uhm, right, your job…well, I guess you just basically do whatever I ask, you think?" he looked just as lost as she felt, and she wondered…

"How did you become a boss?" her tone was beyond mild curiosity, and she blushed in embarrassment as he raised his eyebrow. "I-I'm so sorry! I d-didn't mean that you-" he held up his hand, cutting her off.

"Hey, it's totally fine! That's the nicest way anyone's ever asked me, actually." He sighed, a deep breath full of weary emotion. "I ah, grew up on the streets, you see…never really learned much about manners and all that." He avoided looking at her, his blue eyes full of emotion. "Everyone told me I would be lucky to qualify as a fast food worker. Which is fine, because someone has to build the Big Macs, right?" Hinata nodded, and he gave her a crooked smile. "But to be told that I couldn't possibly amount to anything better…well, I just had to try. I walked up to every guy in an expensive-looking suit and told him about myself. A lot of them looked disgusted, but _one guy_," his eyes lit up as he came to the good part of his story, "liked what I was about, and took me under his wing, so to speak."

He cleared his throat, and Hinata got the feeling that he didn't often talk about himself. "I worked hard, and after a lot of boring jobs, I finally got a top-dog position!" he leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet onto his desk, moving them sideways so he could still look at her. "The guy who took me in is a workaholic, and for some strange reason enjoys paperwork." He stuck out his tongue. "But every once in a while he gets swamped, and so I handle the excess. I also handle anything international—there isn't much—and pick through products designed for a younger audience." He took another deep breath, but this one was more relieved surprised. "Oh man, you sure got me talking! So that's me, but what about you?"

He felt more interested in her than himself. Her eyes were such a strange light purple, but her hair a normal, pretty black color. She looked shy any time there was a silence, or when she had to talk. But any time he had something to say she listened closely. It was a new experience for him.

"M-my family's pretty successful, my father owns tons of companies that I don't really care for, and so I got sent here." Short and simple, the best way to keep herself from stuttering too much in front of her new, incredibly-good-looking-although-she'll-never-admit-that boss.

"Ah, I see. Well if you grew up around so many big shots, I can see why I would be a bit of a letdown."

"No, not at all! My father's always strict, and I've never been comfortable around him. This is much better than anything I could get with him as my boss," she stated truthfully. He looked at her with surprise, then gratitude. "Glad you think so. I've never been the boss of anyone but myself, and I'm obviously way too easy on me." _His grins would make the Cheshire jealous, _Hinata observed. He stood, and she followed suit.

"Well Hinata—can I call you Hinata? Good-I think this will work out just fine! I'll see you tomorrow, and I'll uh, have something for you to do." He reached and took her hand in hers, causing her to stiffen in order to hide her sudden unexplainable urge to blush in a _very _unprofessional way.

Yep, she was going to be crazy when this was all over.


	2. Cars and Nosebleeds

_Chapter Two_

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><p>Hinata got out of her car, a respectable (but still ridiculous in her opinion) Corolla, and steeled herself. She was torn between dread and quiet excitement. Mr. Uzumaki—or should she call him Naruto? Supreme Ruler was obviously out of the question—didn't seem to be an unreasonable boss, but she'd seen plenty of people who seemed to magically change overnight.<p>

"I thought your dad was some rich big shot? Why are you driving around in that box?" Naruto asked from the open doorway of his building, peering over the car at her with an eyebrow raised.

"This," she patted the tan top, "suits me just fine, sir." She walked around the front and he moved to the side to let her through the door, his arms crossed and one eyebrow practically merging with his hairline.

"Riiiiight. Well, I'm more of a GT-R man myself."

"G…GTR?" he nodded "It's a Nissan." he grinned at her because this was one of the _very _few things in which he was actually knowledgeable. Otherwise, his intelligence was…well, he was kept far away from accounting for a reason, and he certainly wasn't going to be making any big company decisions anytime soon. "And it's gotta be orange. Because then it will match all of my shirts." Like the one he had on, for instance. It was an orange button-up shirt—Hinata had never seen one in that color, and her father owned at least 6 men's clothing stores—lying untucked over a pair of jeans, with orange-and-red converse to complete the ensemble.

"Ah, sir?"

"Naruto."

"Naruto…sir." Naruto sighed in mock frustration. "I don't see any cars out there. Should I have parked somewhere else?"

"Nah, I walked here. But as a matter of fact," he smiled at her as he led her to his office, "I happen to own two GT-Rs, three awesome Jaguars, and a Rolls-Royce, which never leaves the garage."

"That seems a little…excessive?" _Oh, I shouldn't have said that! If I'm fired on my first day, Father will never speak to me again…which wouldn't be so bad, I suppose._

But Naruto didn't look offended in the least. "Excessive? Yes. Awesome? Believe it!" He opened the door of his office, which had seemed very spacious the night before. Now a little less than half had been closed off at the back of the room by a row of filing cabinets, some facing the back wall and others towards the front of the room. There was a gap at one end, near Naruto's desk, and another desk could be seen through there. "I had some people move these cabinets into here. I wasn't sure if you'd want your _own _room—which you can still have if you want—or if you even wanted to have your own separate space. So feel free to have them taken away if you want." He sidled closer to her, "the ladies tend to get upset when they're separated from me." She nodded obliviously, causing his flirtatious grin to disappear.

She walked into the separated space and studied the desk. It was L-shaped, forming a sort of square in the back corner. She never wondered why it was placed so that each desk was in full view of the other one, nor did she wonder why Naruto had placed a picture of _himself _on her desk; she just set her purse onto the desk and turned to face her boss. "What would you like me to do first?"

His face blanked and his eyes widened as if he'd forgotten something important. "Oh…aha, about that…" he scratched the back of his head. Hinata looked to his desk and found it completely clear of any papers, and the only image on his computer was of an orange car. _It sort of makes me wonder…why he wanted an assistant._

Naruto racked his brain. _Man, I look like a total dunce here! _I _don't even have work to do, how am I supposed to find work for her? I don't really need help here…but I _was _starting to feel kind of lonely, and there's nothing that beats the blues like a pretty girl! _"Ah…oh, I know!" he pulled out a manuscript from a desk drawer and handed it to her. "My boss wrote this, and he was wondering what I thought. I thought it was boring, but maybe you'll like it, so I'm gonna have you read it, 'kay?"

Her face flushed bright red, "M…M-Make-Out…P-Paradise? Sir, I can't…I can't read this!" her voice barely made a sound as she protested.

"Hey Hinata? You're, uh, looking a little woozy there. You gotta fever or something? Here, lemme check." He stepped towards her, his hand aimed at her forehead. Startled, she took a step backwards and lost balance on her preposterously heeled shoes, causing her to drop like a stone!

"Ow…" she gingerly grabbed Naruto's outstretched hand and hoisted herself up, red-faced and sore.

"Uh…are you okay? Do you need to go home?"

"You can't send me home for every little thing, sir."

He looked at her, surprised. "I can't? Well then buck up soldier, you've got a pervy book ta read!"

Nodding, she walked over to her desk and sat down (while trying hard to ignore her aching hindquarters) and started reading.

...

"Hinata? Hey, Hinata! Wake up!" her boss' concerned voice echoed in her mind, and she opened her eyes to find her face resting on the desk next to a pudde of…

"I-is that blood!" she jerked into a sitting position and looked down at her suit. It was covered! Even if the blood didn't show up well on the navy blue material, there was no way she could keep using it! Well, the skirt looked okay… "W-what on earth happened?"

Naruto's face looked strained. "Well, you uh…mph…and then you…keh…pahahahaha!" He doubled over in fits of laughter! Hinata frowned and dabbed at the already dried blood on her top while she waited for him to finish.

"Uhm…" he wiped his eyes, "you were reading the manuscript, and you got to about page 20 before your face turned the color of a cooked lobster." The strained look was back, apparently him trying to not laugh again. "And then your nose started bleeding and you passed out!" he lifted the manuscript between his thumb and pointer finger, and Hinata stared guiltily at the red-stained paper. "And you only got to a _mild _part. He was just about to…"

"No, please! Not another word!" she shouted, hands over ears.

"So…I'd guess it's a negative review?" That voice wasn't Naruto's! She turned to face a man with long white hair, standing just inside the room with an amused smirk on his face. Naruto's face lit up with excitement.

"Jiraiya! Long time no see!"

"What are you talking about, Naruto? I saw you three days ago!"

"Well, to people who _aren't old geezers, _three days is a long time." By now they were face to face, in prime war position.

Hinata stepped up to Naruto, trying to diffuse the situation. "Sir, you sh-shouldn't speak to your boss in such a way..."

Jiraiya grinned as he looked her over in a way that was just a bit uncomfortable. "She's right you know. But only about me. Believe me, it's okay-actually, it's _expected_- for you to yell at Blondie here whenever needed."

"Don't call me Blondie, you white-haired grampa!"

"Ungrateful punk!"

"Cranky old perv!"

"_Dunce!_" Naruto gasped, though whether from mock outrage or real anger Hinata couldn't tell. She felt that she should probably give them some space, but…

"U-uhm…sirs? Is…i-is something wrong?" They both turned to stare at her with similar expressions of confusion and surprise. Jiraiya was the first to speak up.

"Hey now, there's no need for that! My name's Jiraiya-I've never been a 'sir' in my life!" He grinned. "And nothing wrong in particular. Surely you've felt it?"

"F-felt it…?"

"The need to argue with this idiot. It happens to everybody."

"I am _not_ an idiot, and why should everybody feel the need to argue, huh?" Naruto glared at him again, all excitement about Jiraiya's arrival completely masked. It all happened so quickly…

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "_Anyways, _I came to tell you that we're going out to a dinner tomorrow night."

Naruto's face blanked and he stared at Jiraiya in horror. "You mean, like, _together_? I'm not gonna be your _date_!"

"You idiot!" he roared, causing Naruto to look even more confused! "I have my own date, and you need to find one too." Muttering to himself, Jiraiya waved goodbye and left the room without another word.

"That guy…" Naruto huffed and pouted for a few seconds, and then immediately got over it. "Alright Hinata, I need a date so whadya say?"

"I'll get right on that sir. Do you have anyone in particular in mind?"

Naruto's disbelieving stare left her feeling a _little _uncomfortable. "Uh, yeah…she's gotta have light purple eyes and black hair. I'd prefer if it was someone who worked for me. And her name starts with an H." He raised his eyebrow. "Anybody come to mind?"

Hinata caught on rather quickly. "M-me? Sir, surely you could-"

"Great, it's settled then! I'll come pick you up at six tomorrow evening." He ushered her towards the door, ignoring her quiet protests. "Alright, so I'll see you then!"

"Sir, it's only-"

"Don't worry about it! And don't bother coming in tomorrow, because I'm not! Have a good day, Hinata." _Whap! _Naruto closed the door and left Hinata, flabbergasted, in the hallway.

"You…you too, sir!" she heard him chuckle, then she shuffled down the stairs and out the door, surprised to hear her own laughter as she thought of her new boss.

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><p>Woo-hoo! Thanks for the reviews, guys! =D See ya next chapter, comin up soon<p> 


	3. A Date with Business

_Chapter Three_

_My second day on the job, and I'm already in over my head. _Hinata smoothed her hands over her knee-length lavender dress. It was 5:59, and she stood on her patio waiting for her boss to pick her up. She wondered what he was wearing-a tuxedo was hard to imagine, and even a suit was stretching it!

The sound of screeching tires had her shaking her head. _Some reckless teenagers, putting everyone else in danger. _The screeching got closer, and her heart sped up as bright headlights signaled the approach of a ridiculously expensive-looking orange car. _Wait, orange? It couldn't be…! _But sure enough, the car parked right in front of her house, and her blonde boss stepped out of the car before it was even fully stopped!

Naruto whistled as he looked his date up and down. "I'm glad you could come-how could anyone not be impressed by me with you on my arm?" His remark was both flattering and obnoxiously cocky, a behavior she already knew all too well, even after only working with him for one day! She looked down shyly, a blush painting her face as she walked towards the car.

"Ready to go?" he walked over and pulled open the door for her, and she couldn't help but smile as she stepped in…and then she closed her eyes and sighed as he James-Bond rolled over the hood and slipped in through the open window. "That never gets old!" he grinned and revved the engine.

"Sir, m-maybe we could…travel _at _the s-speed limit?" her voice was barely audible over the purring engine, but Naruto turned to her, surprised.

"Uh…'kay?" Nobody had ever commented about his driving before! Of course, he didn't often drive people around…nobody to drive _with_, he guessed. But he shifted into gear and tried to control his lead foot. It became a little easier when his eyes shifted to Hinata and saw her smiling happily at his boringly careful driving.

The quiet, however, he couldn't work with. "So, uh…" Hinata turned to him expectantly, "did I mention that you look s-nice?" _She'd probably nosebleed or pass out or something if I called her sexy. I'd hate to get blood on the interior…_ "Oh, this is the GT-R I was telling you about! Nice, isn't it?"

Hinata nodded, looking around appreciatively. Then she turned to Naruto and gave him a small smile. "You l-look quite…h-handsome yourself…sir." His dark grey button-up shirt was tucked into matching slacks, and his sleeves were unrolled. _No orange?_

He chuckled. "Thanks. Oh, hey…" he reached onto the floor beneath his seat, taking his hands _and _eyes off the wheel! Before Hinata's heart attack could kill her, however, he was back up and tossed a piece of fabric onto her lap, regaining control of the vehicle. "What?" Hinata had her head leaned against the headrest, hand on her heart. "Aw, come on!" Naruto looked like a child who had just gotten in trouble for climbing on the kitchen counter. "We didn't _die_, did we? Hinata…hey, Hinata, I need your help!"

"With?" still panting slightly, she lifted the limp piece of fabric from her lap. It was a tie. Correction: it was an _orange _tie. She was going to ask him about his color craze sometime… "You need me to tie this for you?" she smiled at him, removing the last traces of panic from her voice.

"Would you? That'd be great!" Hinata reached her arms around his neck to put the tie in place, and even _she _felt the tension building. Her fingers brushed his warm shoulders as she tucked the tie under his collar, and she was glad that the darkness in the car hid her slight blush. Naruto focused all his attention on the road, thinking that it was a little ridiculous for him to be so tense as she tightened the knot near his neck. He'd been fitted for suits (though he had yet to wear any of them) by women plenty of times, and never felt much more than basic physical attraction…not that he'd ever acted on it. So why was it that with a woman whom he'd only known for two days it felt so much more…_personal_?

"Oh!" he spotted the restaurant, thrilled to find a topic. "There's the place. Are you ready for this?" Hinata hesitated, staring at the large restaurant. It was one that her father owned! It also happened to be the one that he frequented most, and everyone in the store knew his entire family, herself included! Naruto noticed her mortified look and pulled out his phone. "I saaaaaaid…are you ready for this?" his words synched with the lyrics of the song, his head nodding with the beat pouring from his phone.

Hinata's head hit the dashboard.

"What, no good?" he joked as he pulled into his parking spot-this happened to be his _favorite _dining joint, although nothing beats fast food-and shoved his now silent phone into his back pocket.

"It…it was a good try, sir," she sighed. While she unbuckled her seatbelt, Naruto stepped out of the car and walked _around _the hood, opening the door for her again. She stood, trying to keep balanced on her despicable heels. She gingerly took Naruto's proffered arm and together they walked into the restaurant, Naruto's head held high while Hinata watched her feet.

The difference between the two was gaping. Hinata was _born_ into this high-society world, and she still wasn't comfortable with it. Naruto rose up from an orphan on the streets, and now he acted as if he owned the world, which Hinata found incredible. He had every right to be proud of where he ended up; it was hard work and determination that got him there! Hinata was a diligent worker, but determination was something that she'd never really understood. Determination meant resistance and strong will, but Hinata preferred to just go with the flow and see where life took her. She'd only ever resisted her father's attempts to pull her into one of his environmentally-degrading companies…and even then she was always _this close _to giving in.

"Naruto, my boy! Welcome, welcome!" an older gentleman-Hinata recognized him as Mr. Higarashi, the manager-greeted them. "And Miss. Hyuuga, too! Two of my favorite guests on a date, I see. What great news!"

Naruto turned back to look at her. "You come here, too? I've never seen you around!"

"M-my father owns the restaurant." Naruto whistled appreciatively.

"Your table is right this way." Mr. Higarashi led them through the quiet, crowded restaurant, stopping at a table seating Jiraiya and his date, a gorgeous brunette _much _younger than him. Also seated was a woman with blonde hair who was downing glass after glass of wine, mumbling about wanting something stronger. Next to her was a kind-looking man with long white hair; not nearly as long as Jiraiya's, though.

"Granny! _You're _the important client?" Naruto's eyes widened, and then narrowed as he plopped into his chair, dejectedly pulling Hinata's out as well. The blonde woman glared at him as she reluctantly set down her glass. "Don't start with me, Naruto. Dan and I are here to talk _business_, so there's no real reason for _you_ to be here; isn't there a fast-food restaurant for you to bother?"

"Hah, I wish! I didn't want to be here anyways," he mumbled in reply. Hinata felt a little lost, as she usually did when people were antagonistic towards him…which was often. Naruto turned to her with a grin. "Well, at least I get to show off my date! This is Hinata Hyuga, my new assistant."

"You poor girl…" Naruto's lips puckered in disapproval, and Jiraiya stepped in.

"Alright, you two! Hinata, this is Tsunade and her husband Dan. They run a medicinal company. You ever heard of Nawaki? "

Hinata nodded with a friendly smile. "My father provides them with a lot of materials."

Tsunade looked thoughtful for a second. "Hyuga…oh, Hiashi?" she set her chin in her hand. Hinata nodded, suddenly feeling like a name-dropper. "Perfect! Can you represent him in this, then? I need some new supplies…"

"I-I can pass on the word, ma'am." She hated relaying business information to her father; when it came to deals, he was a shark going in for the kill.

"Hey, get your own lovely messenger girl, Granny! This one's taken." Naruto hooked his arm around Hinata's shoulders, and Hinata reached for her water, hoping the cold would combat the heat rushing to her face.

"Look at that, Naruto. She's trying to drown herself to get away from you."

The rest of the meeting went just like that-Jiraiya, Dan, and Tsunade talking business, Tsunade and Naruto talking smack, and Hinata occasionally being called on to answer for her father, which she did _not_ particularly enjoy. Jiraiya's date was quiet, only occasionally speaking when Jiraiya turned to her.

When it was over, everyone left feeling satisfied (besides Naruto, who was outraged because Tsunade's insults were far more clever and frequent than his).

"Well Naruto, I'd say this meeting was a success!" Jiraiya clapped Naruto on the back as Tsunade and Dan headed off into the parking lot.

Naruto wasn't nearly as impressed. He yawned. "Yeah yeah. Great. So…"

"And Hinata, your second day on the job and you're already more useful than Naruto!"

"Hey! What the heck, old man!" Grumbling to himself, Naruto stomped back to the car. Hinata watched him, feeling as though she betrayed him somehow…

"I was only kidding, you brat! But if you wanna be that way, then fine!" _HOOOOOONNNNNNNKKKKKKKKK! _Naruto leaned his hand against the horn as he glared at Jiraiya!

"Don't-" _HONK_ "Cut it-" _HOOONK_ "You're being-" _HONK HONK HOOOOOONK! _"You little-!" Naruto, thoroughly enjoying himself, pressed repeatedly as Jiraiya cussed him out. That is, until Hinata snuck into the car and disabled the horn.

"What the-? How'd you do that?" Naruto searched around for this mythical horn-disabling button while Hinata smiled; glad to finally have a use for that trick!

"Sir, can we leave now? We do have work tomorrow, after all."

"Aaaaawwwww, do we hafta? You'll still get paid, promise!" he cheerfully waved goodbye to Jiraiya, earning a confused head shake and a scowl.

"I can't let you pay me if I haven't done anything."

Naruto grinned. "Out of the gutter, Naruto, mind out of the gutter!"

Hinata's face created a new shade of red that night.

Naruto pulled in front of Hinata's house, and suddenly felt lost. Should he walk her to the door? That felt like such a kid move…but would it seem rude if he didn't? In all his 21 years, he'd never been on a date before-_ever_. Of course, this was a business dinner with his employee, and they barely knew each other. Did that matter? He'd probably be better off walking her up-

"Goodnight, sir!" her quiet voice called from the other side of the street.

_FAIL._ She must have gotten out while he was thinking! _Note to self: Stick to not thinking._

"Eh… 'Night, Hinata! See ya tomorrow!" He sped away, feeling like a total dunce.

Yay! Dan's alive! And I got the chapter out before I leave for camp! Please review? You know you want to. The button's right down there. Theeeere you go!

P.S. Nawaki was Tsunade's brother's name.


	4. Exercise

_Facing the Sun_

**Chapter Four**

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><p>"Itachi, he's <em>your <em>brother...yeah, well that didn't make him hate me any less…you, too? Well then I guess he's just a hateful person, eh?" Hinata tried to focus on the words on her computer screen, worried about Naruto's distress. "After I tried so hard to help him, _and _he threw it in my face, you want _me_ to try to fix things? I didn't break them in the first place!" he pressed his forehead to his desk, reluctantly listening to the Uchiha on the other end. He sighed. "Yeah, she'll be here in an hour…I'm not gonna relay your love messages to my personal trainer! No, ick!"

He stuck his tongue out and glanced over at Hinata. "Uh, Hinata? I don't think having your face two centimeters from the screen is good for your eyes…there ya go!" he smiled at her encouragingly, well aware that she was trying to avoid eaves-dropping…not that it would have bothered him. If he really didn't want to be heard, he would have left the room…

"Anyways Itachi, I _have _tried to work things out, but he wont even bother to try...yeah, tell him if ya want, not that he'll care. 'Kay, bye."

Hinata wondered if she should say anything about his conversation…but the curiosity was killing her, so she started with something simple. "You have a p-personal trainer, sir?"

"Yeah…" Naruto swiveled his chair to face her. "It's not that I'm on a health kick or anything, I just got bored…_and_ kinda lonely in the afternoons, so I hired a girl to come by two times a week. She makes me exercise a _lot _harder than I would on my own." He grinned, lifting his hand up to his mouth and back in some strange gesture. "I consider eating ramen a serious exercise, don't you?"

"…no, sir…"

"Ah, you're all critics!" he turned his chair around in circles; oblivious to Hinata's stare, "you're free to work out with us, if ya want."

"Thank you, sir, but you see…I-I have something I'm working on at the moment…"

"What!" in a blink he was by her side, looking over her shoulder at the screen. "How could you have work to do when _I've _been sitting there bored for the last three hours?" he glared at the traitor, who stared at his chin guiltily. Gently rolling her chair aside, he moved in front of the screen, pulling up the e-mail tab at the bottom. Hinata thought that was kind of invasive, but one he was her boss, and two she had nothing to hide…at least, nothing she felt the _need_ to hide, anyways.

"_Jiraiya_! You've been e-mailing _Jiraiya_!" he backed away from her. "You betrayed me, Hinata. Both of you!" he draped himself dramatically over his desk. "He met you twice, and he already likes you more than me? Man…this sucks…"

_Knock knock_. Hinata almost-_almost_- laughed at Naruto's doglike expression, lifting and tilting his head as he stared at the door.

"…do you want me to get that, sir?" Naruto ran behind his desk, sat down, and nodded. Hinata stood and walked over to the door, revealing the pink-haired girl behind it.

"Hello, and welcome to Mr. Uzumaki's office. May I help you?"

The girl's green eyes stared at her skeptically. "I don't know a 'Mr. Uzumaki", but I'm Naruto's personal trainer. I've never met _you_ before though…" she stuck out her hand with a smile. "I'm Sakura Haruno. And you are?"

Hinata gently took her hand for a quick handshake. "M-Naruto's assistant, Hinata Hyuga." She stepped back to allow Sakura into the room. Sakura spied Naruto at his desk, "studying" over a piece of paper.

"You idiot, you think I don't know that you're only pretending to be busy?" Sakura looked at the terrified Naruto with disapproval.

"I, uh…" he shoved his paper to the side, tearing it nearly in two.

Hinata walked over and grabbed it up. "I'll go make a new copy for you…"

"No!" Naruto rushed over to Hinata, eyeing Sakura like she was a shark. "Why don't you stay?"

"…"

"Aw, come on! This'll be fun!"

* * *

><p>"Pleeeeease no more, Sakura! I'm already <em>dead<em>! Do you want to kill me _again_?" Naruto whined from his position on the floor, lying in a heap of sweat and tears.

Sakura nudged him with her toe, and he groaned in agony. "Naruto, don't be such a wuss! I told you last week we would be kicking it up a notch!"

"Hate…notches…" Naruto moved his eyes-the only parts of his body that _weren't_ suffering-over to Hinata. "Hoooooow," the pain dragged all of his words out in a rather comical manner, "are you not dead? Are you even human?"

"Very much so, sir. But I do try to stay in shape. Today's workout wasn't really that bad, was it?"

"..Yes. It was. But I gotta say, I _do _like your shape." His face smacked into the floor, sparing Hinata from him seeing her glowing red face.

"Alright, Naruto." Sakura gave him one final nudge, grinning sadistically at his groans. "We're done with today's session."

"Ya THINK!"

"Don't test me, Naruto!" When he whimpered and curled into the fetal position, she turned to Hinata, who watched the whole thing with a sort of appalled amusement. "It was nice to meet you, Hinata. Good luck with the dunce."

"Oh, he's no p-problem at all! But thank you. I'll see you the next time you come by, then?" Sakura nodded, and then bounced over to the door and into the hall, closing the door behind her. Hinata sighed, and then knelt down next to the weeping pile of her boss. "Are you okay, sir?"

"Sooooo much pain…only a kiss from a pretty girl can fix this, ya know…Hinata?"

_Tap tap tappity tap. _Naruto looked towards Hinata's desk, where she sat typing on the computer. _Re…rejected._ Sighing dramatically, he dragged himself over to his desk, grabbing his water bottle off of his desk and pouring it on his head.

"Sir, you're soaking wet." Hinata looked over at him, not having seen his attempt at washing his sweat (and tears) away. Naruto slumped to the floor, feeling dejected and unappreciated.

"Gee…thanks…could you get me, like, fifty bottles of water. _Cold_?"

Hinata, who was never able to tell exaggeration from actual request, nodded and proceeded to call the nearest superstore to deliver fifty water bottles, in whatever packaging they pleased. After ten minutes of Naruto moaning "Hinaaaaataaaaaaaa," (which Hinata tolerated with a patience only known by Mother Teresa and Sharon Osborne), a knock on the door signaled the arrival of the bottles.

"Hinata?" Naruto called his hiding place under his desk, "Any idea who that is?"

"I-It's your water, sir." His large blue eyes peeked out at her, his head tilted parallel to the floor.

"You had my water bottle _delivered_? And people say _I'm_ lazy."

"I couldn't very well carry fifty bottles on my own."

"That's true; you don't seem-wait, _fifty_?" Right on cue, two large men came in, both carrying large crates of water bottles. They set them down, nodded to Hinata, and then left without a word. Naruto found the strength to walk and went to investigate. "Cool, we've got water…where's the whiskey?"

"Sir!"

"…I can deal with vodka…"

"_N-No_!"

"Okay, okay! …beer?" Hinata's firm head shake brings Naruto's dreams crashing down.

"No good comes from alcohol, sir."

"…you've obviously never gotten soused and then got sober to find yourself upside-down on a rollercoaster that you _apparently_ paid hundreds of dollars for so they'd stop it on the top of the loop." Naruto's face took on a far away look as he took a trip down drunken-memory lane.

"That sounds horrifying, _not _wonderful!"

"But when you're a hundred feet in the air, the girl next to you gets _awfully_ clingy! And _that_ is some good stuff!" Grabbing a water bottle, Naruto walked back to his desk and checked his watch. "What time do we get out of here?"

Hinata opened her mouth, closed it, and then sighed. "Whatever time you want, sir; you _are_ the boss."

Naruto grinned, enlightened at this new piece of information. "Oh yeah, that's right! Wanna hit McDonalds?"

"I don't eat at fast food restaurants."

Naruto gasped at this personal assault. "That's practically the same as not eating ramen!"

"…I…don't."

Naruto looked at her with all the good-natured hatred he could muster…the efforts of thatalone were almost enough for him to drop to the subject. Almost…

"You don't _eat ramen_! That's not what you wrote on the application!"

"The application didn't ask me about my food habits." By now, Hinata was thoroughly confused and more than a little worried for her safety!

Naruto lifted his hands as if he was balancing something. "Fast food…ramen…fast food…duh, ramen!" He grabbed his coat and walked over to Hinata's desk, lifting her coat out for her to put on. "Alright, we're gonna go eat some _ramen_, and _you're_ gonna see what you're missing!"

Naruto dragged her out the door, not even giving Hinata a chance to protest…not that she would.


	5. Ramen and Reunion

…No, as a matter of fact I _don't _own Naruto. Thanks for reminding me -_-

_Chapter 5_

* * *

><p>The restaurant that Naruto picked was the kind that <em>everyone <em>went to. As far as Naruto knew, there wasn't a special ramen joint for rich people…not that that would have made any difference. As far as he was concerned, Ichiraku was the place to be, no matter who you were!

"So, you can order any flavor you want…as long as it's miso!" he explained to his wide-eyed assistant.

"I-I've never seen a menu that hangs off the w-wall!" she turned her head left and right, taking it all in.

"It's a lot easier than flipping pages, isn't it?" They moved to the counter, where the elder cashier treated Naruto like an old friend.

"Naruto! Your usual, right? Oh!" he turned to Hinata with a friendly smile. "But this isn't a usual kind of day, is it? You've got yourself a lady friend, eh?"

"Ah, Teuchi!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head, eyes closed. "This is Hinata Hyuga, my office assistant!" He leaned in closer and whispered, "She's a ramen virgin!"

Thankfully Hinata didn't hear him. The word "virgin" would have had her blushing, regardless if it was just about food!

"A ramen…? Son, you're a real dope sometimes! Couldn't you have worded that…I don't know, _differently_?"

Naruto's eye twitched slightly. "Do ya want my money or not!" they squared off, looking each other in the eyes, then burst out laughing. "So, I'll take two bowls of miso, one with chashu on top and the other…" he shuddered, "loaded with vegetables." The mere word threw him into a near gagging fit that had Teuchi rolling his eyes.

Hinata almost joined him. "Sir, perhaps if you ate more vegetables you'd be able to keep up with Sakura's work outs."

"…that was a low blow."

"'Sir'?" Teuchi looked between Hinata and Naruto. "I never imagined anyone would ever see you as a 'Sir,' Naruto."

"I know, right? It's so weird." Teuchi turned around and walked into the kitchen area to prepare their meals while Naruto found them a seat. It was a cozy restaurant, a little smaller than the typical fast-food place. There were three tables taken, which left a little over half of them, including the one by the window that Naruto picked.

Naruto leaned his chin on his hand. "So, this is the first restaurant you've been to without valet parking?"

Hinata nodded. "My f-father would describe this place as…sir, are you alright?" Naruto's eyes had widened as he looked out the window. His sad gaze was resting on a man their age with black hair and dark, bored eyes standing in the parking lot of the five-star restaurant next door. Without a word, Naruto left the table and hurried out towards the man, leaving Hinata inside while she worried at his expression.

"Sasuke! Hey, man!" Naruto forced the grin onto his face as he greeted his former friend.

"What?" Sasuke replied irritably.

Naruto swallowed his disappointment at the cold treatment and plowed on. "So, are you uh waiting for a client or something?"

"Is that your business?" Sasuke noted the blonde's expression falling and sighed, nodding. "Another snobby big-shot."

Naruto was encouraged to laugh. "Yeah, I hear ya! So…have you heard from Itachi?"

"Yes." Sasuke's reply was civil enough. Naruto could never tell when the Uchiha brothers were in the middle of one of their infamous disputes. "He told me that you wanted us to 'hang out'?" Naruto grinned and nodded, leaving Sasuke feeling almost guilty. He hadn't meant for things to turn out quite so…rough between them.

* * *

><p>"I was just trying to help, Sasuke! I found a job; I wanted to help you find one too!" Two sixteen year old boys stood, looking like polar opposites of each other. Except for their expressions, which were similar masks of anger and hurt.<p>

The blonde had recently gotten a promotion under his boss, Jiraiya. He was finally living in a house, stocked with food. And he had been _used _to the streets; he'd lived on them his whole life!

The dark boy in front of him had not. He'd run from his home three years ago, resentful of his father's ignorance and living under his brother's shadow. His mother came by to drop off some clothing and food every week or so, but her pleas for him to return fell on deaf ears. Until his father acknowledged him, or his brother stopped being…himself, there was _no way _he would return. It had been a hard transition. His father was the regional police chief, and his family had been well-off. Sasuke hadn't even planned how he would survive on the streets.

Until this friendly knucklehead showed up and showed him the ropes. At first, Sasuke was reluctant to follow Naruto anywhere, but soon the two were like brothers! Then one day, Sasuke woke up from their sleeping place (that night had been a porch step) to find his partner gone. When the blonde had returned, he announced that he had gotten a job! He promised Sasuke that as soon as he was on good footing with the boss, he'd get Sasuke a job too. And he did. Naruto rose above everything that was thrown at him, and one day came back to present Sasuke with a work pass.

But Sasuke didn't want it.

He had grown resentful of Naruto's success, and went to find a job _on his own_. Naruto thought that Orochimaru was a creep, but Sasuke was beyond listening. Right on the spot, he had become the assistant manager of Hebi Records. Not only that, but with his new success came a new attitude. He didn't want anything from his old life-Naruto included.

* * *

><p>Five years later, Sasuke had changed. He'd contacted his brother, who was thrilled to hear from his younger sibling. He's apologized to his mother, who had welcomed him back into her life with open arms.<p>

He still hadn't spoken to his father.

But the one person he hadn't confronted was standing in front of him. Naruto had been trying all those years to stay connected with Sasuke, and now it was his turn to try back.

"All right, Naruto." He forced one side of his lips up, trying to look amiable. "I'll treat, even."

Naruto almost teared up, and he had to resist the urge to embrace his old friend. Finally! After all these years, he had the chance to reunite with the man that was like a brother to him! "O-okay! Great, that's great! When? Where?" He bit his tongue-literally- before he could make a complete fool of himself.

"How about here? Tomorrow night, at six." Sasuke turned his head, noticing the black Mercedes pulling up. "That's my client. See you, Naruto." He walked off, leaving Naruto standing in a daze. He wanted to leap up and shout "I'VE GOT A BEST FRIEND AGAIN!" And he would have, too! But Hinata, noticing Naruto standing all alone, had left the restaurant and gone to check on her boss.

"N-Naruto? Is something wrong, sir?"

"Wrong? No! Not at all! Something is right, really really _right_!" He took Hinata's hand and practically ran back to the ramen shop. He tucked into his cooled ramen elatedly, and Hinata started onto hers as well. She'd waited patiently for Naruto, and even paid the tab. She was a little confused, and pleasantly surprised that her boss came back so happy. He deserved happiness.

Hinata was shocked to discover that she was wondering how _she _could make him this happy.


	6. Exactly The Same, Only Different

A/N: Yes! I own Nar…oh, never mind…dang it -_-

Anyways, we're all aware of the NaruHina vs. NaruSaku debate (obviously if you're reading this, you're on the NaruHina side…or you are in the _wrong place_!) So this is just kind of addressing that a little bit, because I understand the other side of the argument as well. (Clearly I am still very much for NaruHina…and clearly I enjoy parenthesis.)

Well, enough of that! I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review! ^-^

* * *

><p>"<em>Is she there<em>?"

"Who, Hinata? No, she went to copy some papers. Why?"

"_I want to talk to you about her_."

"Aw, are you jealous Sakura?" Naruto grinned; placated by the fact that Sakura couldn't punch him through the phone. At least, not that he knew of…

"_Jealous? Are you stupid?_" she sighed, "_Of course you are. Sorry I asked." _

"Ouch."

"_Actually, I think you guys are great together!" _

"Eh?" the blonde nearly fell out of his chair! "What do you mean 'together'?"

"_Well, not together like that…yet." _

"Yet? Hey, I know you saw me flirting with her…but that's all it was. She's not my type…" he was surprised that a small part of him was disappointed by that.

"_She's female and she has a pulse! That's as good as you usually get." _Sakura teased.

Naruto looked out the window without responding. The tie incident came to mind… "Hinata's just…too shy, ya know?"

"_Which is exactly what you need! You need _someone _who can hold you back from some of your crazier ideas. And maybe, with time, you could pull her out of her shell."_

"…she's not a turtle, Sakura."

"_That was a metaphor."_

"…for what?"

"_What?" _

"What's a meta for?"

"_Shut up!" _Poor Naruto shrunk away from the phone, resolving to ask Hinata what a meta was for.

"Well, whatever. I still think maybe we would have been better together, Sakura. I mean, Itachi's a great guy and all, except he could smile a little bit more, but…"

From her couch at home Sakura sighed, glad Itachi and his all-hearing ears were at work. He didn't get jealous, and he was always very tolerant of Naruto and his flirting, but she still didn't want him to hear it.

"_But nothing, Naruto. You're a great guy and a great friend, but you're practically my younger brother."_

"I'm only like…" she rolled her eyes as Naruto counted on his fingers, "seven months younger than you, Sakura…hey, guess what?"

"_If you're trying to change the subject…"_

"I'm not, promise! Sasuke and I are gonna have dinner together tonight!"

Sakura sat there, stunned. _"R-really? He agreed to that?" _

Naruto nodded ecstatically despite the fact that Sakura couldn't see him. "He's the one who suggested it! I mean, I asked him if he wanted to hang out sometime, well actually Itachi told him that but I told Itachi that, and then Sasuke said 'yes' and told me to meet at the restaurant today at six and he'll even pay isn't that great?" He sat, slightly out of breath, at his desk with a grin.

"_Y-yeah, fantastic Naruto!" _since she and Itachi had started dating she'd been able to see Sasuke quite a bit, and was glad that he was starting to branch out more!

"_Well, I've got to go and make dinner-"_

"Ooh, whatcha havin'?"

"_Salad."_

"…blech." Naruto's nose wrinkled in a way that, had Hinata been there, would have caused her to blush and stare at everything besides her boss.

He heard a huff from his friend. _"To each his own. Anyways, maybe…maybe we could go on a double date sometime."_

"You're asking me on a date?"

"_NO! You and Hinata, me and Itachi. Got it?"_

"Oh, that. Look Sakura, she doesn't seem like the dating kind anyway, so either way I don't think it's gonna happen." He studied his nails, trying to play it off even though the words practically scratched his throat on their way out. Which was stupid, because everything he was saying was right on the money…wasn't it? "And speaking of Hinata, I'm sure she'll be here any minute so…see ya tomorrow?" his voice trembled slightly as memories of sweat and pain—oh, so much pain!—came rushing at him.

"Bright and early!" she sang, already plotting her next torture…er, workout session.

The doorknob to Naruto's office twisted with a click, and Naruto closed his cell phone.

Hinata walked into the room, her loose dark hair popping against her light tan business outfit. Although she wasn't smiling, her lavender eyes were warm and pleasant. Naruto wondered how she opened the door, considering her hands were full with a pile of paperwork nearly reaching her chin. "Jiraiya wasn't l-lying, his desk is covered in paperwork, Sir!" she placed the whole pile onto his desk, and then lifted a little over half the pile back into her hands.

Naruto grabbed a handful off the top and thumbed through them. "Why's that?"

"W-well, his latest book just went on the market, and the deal with Tsunade went through…remember, we had dinner with her and Dan?" she prompted, noticing her boss' blank stare, "and o-other miscellaneous-"

"That sounds painful."

"_Various_ deals that he's been working on, all given to him practically simultaneously-"

"What's a monkey got to do with it? Oh right, Jiraiya…"

Hinata's brow furrowed, and she added 'buy Naruto a dictionary…a _children's_ dictionary' to her mental to-do list. "Actually, monkeys are _simian_, not simultaneous…but you were impressively close." Naruto's eyes narrowed and Hinata chose her next words carefully, "all of these assignments were given to him at the same time, and he doesn't have the time to do all of it."

"Alright, then let's get cracking!"

* * *

><p>When Naruto looked up from what had to have been the fiftieth paper over at Hinata's desk, he was shocked to see pink light illuminating her from the window. He glanced at his expensive watch—honestly, he didn't like it because it was adult-y and not orange, but Jiraiya said it was 'professional'—and then looked over at his assistant, whose 'done' pile was <em>much <em>larger than his. "Hey, Hinata? You were supposed to leave like an hour ago."

"The day isn't done until the work is." Hinata never even looked up, easily juggling paperwork and conversation in a way that made Naruto's head spin. He thought back over what Sakura said about Hinata being good for him, and he had to agree. He was a hard worker; he had to have been to get this far as a boy off the streets. But Hinata was the kind of person who could hold him to his work, to push him gently to keep it up. "Is that what you're g-going to wear on your meeting with Sasuke?"

Naruto nearly knocked over the tower of papers on his desk. "Daaaah! How could I have forgotten?" he looked down at his clothes. An orange tee under an open gray blazer and jeans? Obviously _not_ what to wear at a five-star restaurant when you're having dinner with the almost-brother you haven't seen in years. "Ah, no…I'm gonna hafta get a different outfit. What timezit?" he turned to Hinata, forgetting about his own hated watch.

"5:23."

"Okay, I can do this! Will you lock up? Great, thanks, see ya tomorrow, bye!" he rushed out the door, leaving a flustered Hinata in his wake. She stood, and then remembered that she had nothing to do tonight and sat back down. She could finish up a couple more papers…

* * *

><p>"Glad you could make it, Naruto."<p>

Sasuke had forgotten how amusing Naruto could be. He actually _hurdled _over a chair a split second before the elderly woman could sit in it. Typical Naruto; can't even be shamed into behaving in a top-quality restaurant.

He dropped into the chair opposite of Sasuke's. "And with th…thirty seconds…to spare, ha!" he panted. "Would've been here a lot sooner if the traffic hadn't been so…"

"Abhorrent?"

"Eh? No, suckish."

"…hn." Not very tasteful language, but then again he _had_ been on the streets his entire life. Even after only three years it had taken Sasuke months to cure himself of his bad speaking habits…which he'd learned from Naruto.

Naruto nodded, as if answering an unspoken question. "I ah…heh, I left my Jaguar at an old grocery store parking lot and ran here."

"I don't blame you. Jaguars are ancient looking, aren't they?" he wasn't real privy to the world of cars, but if he was thinking of the right vehicle it almost resembled a jalopy or something like that.

"What, no! It's a C-X75. _Much_ cooler than the model you're thinking of."

"Hn."

Naruto's face twisted into a mischievous grin. "Remember the first car we hot-wired, Sasuke?"

"You idiot!" Sasuke's glare had _shut up_ written all over it. "That's not the sort of thing you talk about in a place like this; surely you've learned that by now!"

"My name's not Shirley." His response was a knee-jerk reaction; one that he would _definitely _have to work on later. "Ah, I mean…I don't visit these places too often, ya know? Only when I have an important meeting."

"Like this one."

Naruto's face lit up. "Yup! Most important meeting I've had since…well, ever!" he hoped he hadn't messed this dinner up too badly yet. His face fell into a serious expression. "I'm…I'm really glad to be hanging out with you again. I don't miss living on the streets, but…with you around, it wasn't all that bad."

Sasuke's eyebrows lifted in surprise, and he realized just how much his leaving must have hurt Naruto, if he was acting like this. It seemed to Sasuke that Naruto felt as though he was walking on eggshells. This wasn't the truth. Naruto was annoying, yes, and Sasuke had many problems dealing with him. But underneath that was a good guy, and if Sasuke was being honest, he felt kind of nostalgic about that time too.

But Sasuke was still the same in that he wasn't just going to plow right into an emotional conversation, so he cleared his throat and picked up his menu. "Have you been here before?"

"Oh yeah!" the blonde man flicked his menu to the side. "Don't order the seafood. Bo-ring. _I'd_ recommend…you like tomatoes, right?"

_He…he remembers that? I don't even remember his favorite ramen flavor, and he talked about it all the time. _"Yes."

"Great! Then…I'd order that." He poked Sasuke's menu hard, nearly taking it out of his hands. Sasuke grunted and Naruto sat back. "Sorry. I can't pronounce that for the life of me-"

"I'm not going to attempt it either."

"But Jiraiya ordered it and apparently really liked it. It had a lot of tomato…can't remember if it was sauce or actual tomatoes…" he trailed off and out of the blue held up his hand.

"What are you…?"

"Naruto! Good to see you." A waiter walked up with a polite smile as if summoned. Naruto's raven haired companion almost crossed his arms in suspicion. He'd been to the restaurant many times, and had never seen or heard of anyone getting a waiter by raising their hand.

"Hey there, Makuto. We're about ready to order the boo…the beverages." _Booze is a funner word… _"What's your poison, Sasuke?"

"Water."

"True. Water is boring, and boring is poisonous. But seriously, you don't seem like a wine guy…but champagne is for sissies…whadya want?"

"Wa. Ter."

"O. Kay. Fine…" he turned to Makuto. "One wa. Ter, and…eh, just surprise me and don't skimp on the good stuff, 'kay?" he grinned, and Makuto responded with a genuine smile. Naruto was by far his favorite regular!

"Alcohol? That's beneath you, Naruto."

"The only thing beneath me is the ground. And after a bottle or two, the ground and I? We're like this." He crossed his fingers, and then noticed Sasuke's unrelenting expression. "Relax Sasuke. I honestly don't see the big deal…"

"The 'big deal' is that alcohol makes you act stupid. And you _don't _need any help with that!"

Wide blue eyes gazed into narrow dark ones, and Naruto remembered Hinata saying something similar. "I gotcha…I'll ask for a soda." It's not like he _needed_ alcohol anyway. It just made things more fun.

* * *

><p>"That was a great meal, eh Sasuke?" Naruto sat back, his plate as clean and white as it was before they put the food on!<p>

Sasuke nodded and reached into his wallet, not even bothering to check the black billfold in Makuto's hand before he pulled out two hundreds and handed them over. "Just keep the change. Ready, Naruto?"

"Yep." He waved to Makuto and then followed his friend through the restaurant, hissing when an old lady turned and stomped on his foot. _On purpose!_ The rest of the way was a battle, with his throbbing foot giving him a limp while every customer suddenly seemed like a land mine of spiky shoes just waiting to maim him with their…spiky-ness.

"Naruto, do you know why that lady stepped on your foot?" Sasuke asked, not looking back as he paced down the dark street.

The blonde pouted. "No, but obviously you do! What gives?"

"Think about the path you took to our table."

_Uh…ran to my house, left Miso in a grocery store parking lot…maybe I should have brought Chashu instead…and then ran inside, hurdled over…oh!_

"Okay, so maybe I jumped over her chair. So? That's no excuse for nearly snapping my foot in half with her shoe!"

Sasuke chuckled, leaving Naruto's aching foot totally forgotten. _I made him laugh! _"You know, Naruto…we should do this again sometime."

"Y-yeah? I mean, yeah! Totally! And _I'll _grab the bill next time."

"That's a given." Sasuke stepped around to the driver's side of a Murcielago.

Naruto whistled in appreciation. "Never had you pegged as a lambo rider, Bro." Sasuke gave him a blank stare, and glanced down at the car while the door rose. "A Lamborghini! Sasuke, don't you know what your _own car_ is?"

"Apparently it's a Lamborghini. I had no idea." Naruto stared at him with disbelief, and vowed to teach Sasuke all about the magical world of automotives! "That aside, would you like a ride back to your car?"

Normally he'd decline, but he nodded and stepped in watching with fascination as the car door slipped back into place. The ride to his car wasn't long, and soon Sasuke was pulling in next to the orange Jaguar before Naruto could even pick it from the small crowd of cars.

"How did you-"

"It's orange and expensive-looking and in the back lot of a small store. Who else could it possibly belong to?"

"You wanna take a look at her?"

"_Her_? You left a _woman _in there?"

"Miso is a fine lady, Sasuke."

Realization lit Sasuke's eyes. "Either you're referring to the car, or you have a daughter that fell victim to your ramen obsession."

Naruto huffed. "This is my favorite driving car, Miso. I have a red Jag named Chashu and my silver one is Chopsticks."

"I suppose you could always tell people you named it after the waltz."

"There's a waltz called Chopsticks?" Sasuke nodded, resisting the urge to grin at Naruto's horrified expression. "Well, she'll be getting a new name!"

"I don't understand why you name them-"

"But wait! There's also my Rolls-Royce, Ichiraku."

"That ramen shop across from the restaurant." Sasuke recalled.

"The best! And I have a Nissan G-TR." He grinned.

"Named?"

"Hinata."


	7. Hinata's Old Friend, Naruto's New Enemy?

A/N: Dudes...believe me, if I owned Naruto I wouldn't be writing about him. I don't like to share. :P

Chapter 7

Naruto walked with a bounce in his step, only pausing to look over Hinata's box—erm, car, parked outside the building. _She's here before me? If she's trying to show me up, it's working. _

_Wait…she doesn't even have a key! _He ran up and attempted to turn the doorknob, but it stood fast. _How the heck did she…? _He unlocked the door with jerky movements and sprinted up to his office. He opened the door with so much force that it pulled him into the room and threw him onto the floor, leaving his ribs and chin throbbing.

He stood slowly and looked at Hinata with confusion as she was draped over her desk, back rising as she slept without even a hint of snoring, which had Naruto suspicious. Come on, what normal person doesn't snore even a _little _bit? That wasn't the only suspicious piece to this would-be crime scene. He wasn't the most perceptive guy ever, according to Sakura, but he was pretty sure Hinata had worn that same outfit yesterday. What was going on here?

He passed his desk on the way to hers, and noticed that it was totally clean. Wasn't Paperwork Mountain taking up residence there just last night? He gaped at Hinata's desk, which had all of her paperwork _plus _all of _his_ organized into neat little stacks ready to be delivered.

_She worked here overnight and finished the paperwork! Man, she needs a raise or somethin'! _"Hey, Hinata? Auhf…." The awkward sound escaped his lips as she looked up at him drowsily, and for the first time that Naruto had ever seen she didn't seem timid or nervous. A little annoyed maybe, but he always was when he first woke up himself. Sleep had stripped all of the shyness away momentarily, but it only lasted a few seconds until Hinata realized where she was and looked probably the most embarrassed that Naruto had ever seen her.

"O-o-oh, I'm so s-sorry! I ah…I uh…" she trailed off with a moan. "I went down and locked the door, but I forgot my jacket so I came back up, and I was so tired that I just…I guess I just…"

Naruto held his hands up, wishing he could find some way to calm her down. "It's okay Hinata, really!" When Hinata shook her head he stepped forward and grabbed her wrists gently. "Honestly, it's okay! What's wrong about falling asleep after a long night of paperwork? Heck, I fall asleep after the first page sometimes." He joked. Hinata calmed down a little after that, her shoulders slumping as her face regained its normal pallor. Naruto smiled. "Good. Now, how about you go on home and clean up? I can hold down the fort while you're gone."

"A-are you sure?"

"A thousand percent!" he assured her. "Oh, but be here at two!" Hinata looked back. "There's some guy coming by about animal shelters. You like that kind of save-the-world stuff, right?"

Hinata nodded with a smile and walked into the hallway, glad that Naruto was so laid-back. If her father had seen her sleeping at work…she shuddered.

~Two o'clock rolls around~

"_Mr. Uzumaki?_"

"Yeah, s'up?" he responded through the speaker, completely forgoing the other man's formal tone.

"_Your two o'clock is here._"

"Cool, send 'im up."

"_He, ah_…" both Naruto and Hinata looked at the black system on Naruto's desk expectantly. "_He's got a rather large dog with him, sir. Shall I…keep it down here?_"

The reluctance in his voice was pretty obvious. "Nah, just send them both up."

Six pairs of heavy footsteps and the clacking of claws on wood echoed outside followed by the door opening as a man with brown hair burst in followed by a white dog that could have been part bear! The man saw Naruto sitting at his desk with an eyebrow raised, but filing cabinets hid Hinata from his view.

"Mr. Uzumaki, right?" he asked the blonde frankly.

Hinata stood at the sound of his voice and quickly walked out of her little enclosure. "K-Kiba? Is that you?"

The man's face lit up as he rushed toward her. "Hinata! Long time no see, right?" she found herself being lifted and spun, while the dog barked its own greeting.

"Hey, hey! Put my employee down!" _Who is this clown, anyways? Acting so familiar with Hinata…and people say _I'm _obnoxious. _Naruto fumed inside, but managed to tamp it down to disapproval on his expression. "This…this is a place for business!" he wasn't even managing to convince himself, let alone Kiba! But Hinata, to Naruto's smug relief, pulled herself away and cleared her throat, reaching down politely to scratch the dog behind its ears. "G-good afternoon, Akamaru."

_She even knows the dog's name? _"So, you're…" Naruto looked down at the grant request in front of him. "Kiba Inuzuka, of the Inuzuka Animal Hospital and Shelter?" Kiba nodded. "And you want…" glance down "301,440 yen? ($3000)" another nod, this time distracted as Kiba looked back over at Hinata with a large grin.

_You better keep your eyes to yourself or you're not getting crap from me, you little-! _"_And_ you want us to help you _advertise_ your little…_business_?" He tried to release some of his anger by emphasizing random words. He had no idea why he was so angry though…

Kiba looked over at him, irritated. "'Little business'?" Akamaru growled, and Naruto barely resisted the urge to lose his professional air and growl back. _Seriously though, what's the matter with me? He hasn't even done…oh, whatever! If my gut tells me he's a creep then I'll go with my instinct. _

His train of thought was derailed when Kiba's face appeared an inch from his own. "Listen you, our shelter is a _huge _deal! You should consider it an _honor _that we even _asked_!

"Well _I _doubt that _your _business would even _run _if you didn't go around _pestering _businesses like _mine_!"

* * *

><p>Hinata stood in the background as Naruto and Kiba threw emphasized words at each other like grenades. <em>I<em>_-I don't understand why they're stressing so many of their words…_

"Hinata!" two angry men's voices pierced the air, causing her to flinch.

"Ah, sorry Hinata." "My bad, Hinata!" "Arf!"

"I-It's fine. What is it?"

Kiba took her hand in his pleadingly. "Hinata, explain to this…_him_," Naruto's eyes narrowed, "how important the Shelter is!"

"Hinata, please tell Dog Boy that-"

"Dog Boy!"

"That we can't just hand out money to every business that comes knocking!" Hinata's eyes widened slightly at his words. Naruto usually handed out money like it was bird feed! Just yesterday he gave a kid money just because it made his wallet too thick for comfort…

"Erm…well, I…Kiba, you have to understand…compared to the businesses that this company deals with the Shelter isn't very large." Kiba grunted and crossed his arms, unimpressed. "But Naruto," the blonde's smug expression fell as she turned on him, "th-the Shelter _is_ important. I've been there many t-times, so I know how many animals depend on it for a home."

"…well yeah, but…I mean…_fine_." Naruto pulled out a checkbook and scribbled hastily, tearing it out with a jerky tug. "But first…" he looked between the two of them, Kiba looking annoyed and Hinata confused and strangely guilty…"you have to tell me how you two know each other."

"What the heck kind of condition is that?" Kiba shouted and Akamaru, sensing his master's discomfort, ran around and stood his front paws on Naruto's lap.

"Get your mutt off me!"

"He's not a _mutt_. I'll bet he's got more class than you!"

"That's real funny, considering you're begging me for money!"

"_Begging_? We didn't beg for anything!" Akamaru barked in Naruto's face, and he stood.

"N-Naruto? Kiba" Hinata's quiet voice was unheard by either man.

"I can't believe I even considered giving you a cent! You obviously suck at training dogs!"

"How _dare _you—"

_WHAM! _

Both turned towards the source of the noise, made by quiet little Hinata slamming the door with all her ungodly might! "Stop! This is ridiculous! You are both acting completely unprofessional. You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Naruto, Kiba, and even the dog looked shocked! "I hope you two…you two realize…o-oh my!" she ran out of steam and covered her mouth in horror. "I-I'm so sorry Sir…a-and Kiba, you didn't deserve…so sorry."

Naruto and Kiba looked at each other guiltily and Akamaru whimpered. Naruto plopped back into his chair and cleared his throat. "No, I'm sorry Hinata. Thank you." He sighed, hating the fact that being the bigger man doesn't always make you the happy one. "Alright, Mr. Inizika."

"Inuzuka!"

_Heh_. "Here's your money. And maybe…we could even work out some kind of adoption event…or something." It was practically mumbled under his breath, but Kiba still looked at him shocked and Hinata smiled proudly.

"Uh, yeah! That'd be great Mr. _U_zumaki." Kiba flashed Hinata a winning grin. _Tch, suck up. _

"Oh!" Hinata looked at her boss. "You were wondering how we already know each other."

"I'm curious, yeah."

"We went to high school together. We've stayed in contact, but we've both been so busy that it's been a while. Hasn't it, Kiba?"

"Yeah, totally! How'd you get stuck in _this_ place?"

"Stuck? She's not—"

"I like it here, Kiba." Hinata cut her boss off before another argument could begin. "M-my father—"

"Can't he just leave you alone?" Kiba knew her father's tyranny well. It was enough to make anyone's life a nightmare, but for someone as gentle as Hinata it was ten times worse. "He's such a jack—"

"Kiba!"

"Well he is! What kind of father evicts his own daughter?"

Naruto leaned back in his chair, shocked.

"He did _what_?"

"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Kiba grinned, obviously enjoying the fact that he knew more about Hinata than Naruto did.

Hinata glanced at Kiba, getting as close to a glare as she possibly could. "I-I don't see the need to pour out my personal problems to everyone…" she defended. She looked over and caught a glimpse of hurt in Naruto's eyes before he covered it and relented. "But…a few months ago, I got fired from my last job. I-It wasn't anything I did, I promise!" She didn't want Naruto to think that she was a bad employee…but he just nodded understandingly. "But my father felt differently. I was living in an apartment complex that he owned, and he…he asked me to leave." _That's the nice way to put it, at least._ The day was still fresh in her mind, but all she wanted to do was forget about it.

Naruto was stunned. How could someone so kind and gentle be related to someone so…_cruel_?

"Well…" Kiba rubbed the back of his head. "I've got to go now, but call me up sometime, 'kay Hinata? We'll go out to lunch or something."

"That'd be great, Kiba!"

"And, uh…" he glanced at Naruto awkwardly and held the check up "thanks for this…the Shelter really appreciates it."

"Yeah," Naruto said with the same awkwardness "no problem."

With one final wave to Hinata and a friendly bark (courtesy of Akamaru) the man and his dog were out the door, Akamaru's clacking claws echoing.

Naruto sighed and glared at the grant request lying on his desk. "Well, glad that's over!" he crumpled it up into a ball and threw it towards the trash can across the room, probably put there for just this reason. It sank straight into the can and Naruto held up two fingers in victory.

"Sir, aren't you supposed to save those?"

"…shoot." Naruto glared at the trash can, willing it to throw the paper back up.

_I really don't want to go digging around in there. I mean, I _know _what I've thrown in… wonder if that ramen is still moving. That was weird. I was gonna eat that…_

Naruto took a moment of silence for his fallen food, while Hinata rummaged through her desk drawers and pulled out a sheet of paper. His eyebrows lifted as an exact copy of the grant was placed in front of him.

"I-I made copies of most of your paperwork…just in case."

He grinned. "Man, what would I do without you, Hinata?" he glanced down at his watch. "Weeeeeell, we're all done with our chores. Let's pack up for the day. Unless…" he walked around his desk and placed his hand on the small of Hinata's back. "Unless you want to spend the night here again. I'd be happy to join you." He leaned his forehead against hers. "Wouldn't want you getting lonely."

You'd think Hinata would be used to his flirting by now, but her red face and pounding heart proved otherwise! Hinata stared into his eyes, forgetting to pull away, to breathe, forgetting _everything_ but the man in front of her. And it seemed that Naruto had come across the exact same problem. Their lips were only a few inches apart…Naruto leaned in slowly.

"Goodbye, Hinata!" he yelped, and she backed away flinching slightly. She nodded and walked out into the hallway, a light-headed haze constricting her view. Naruto shook his head and gathered his things quickly, not letting himself think of how close he came to ruining everything.


	8. Pizza, Plus a Ticked Off Cousin

Ugh, this was so hard to write. -_- And it doesn't really get us anywhere. I kind of just pushed the metaphoric writer's block inch by inch until it seemed long enough. Next chapter will probably be similar…but I DO have plans for the future!

DisC: I can't imagine why someone would think I own the Naruto enterprise…company…thingy. I don't even know what to call it, so that's proof of my un-owningness.

* * *

><p>"The Kuroto papers?"<p>

"Typed and delivered to the Zumaru Company."

"Jiraiya's manuscript."

"Sent to the publisher."

"And the Beniko grant?"

"There's…there's no such thing…" Hinata stared at the blonde, perplexed. _I'm sure I didn't miss anything._

His teasing grin put her at ease. "Just checkin'. Man, you've been busy haven't you?"

Hinata smiled. "For the first time in quite a while."

It had been a month since Kiba had asked for the grant money, and it had been a long and _boring _month, in Naruto's opinion. Those wouldn't be Hinata's exact words, but her feelings were similar. She wasn't happy with herself unless she had something to contribute at work. Unfortunately, March seemed to be National Do-Nothing month. The only exciting thing that had happened was Sakura's birthday party, where Hinata got to meet Sasuke for the first time, as well as Itachi. Itachi reminded Hinata of herself, almost. Quiet, but kind. Itachi's quiet was more distracted though, as if he had a lot on his mind.

And Sasuke, well…Hinata had a hard time believing he and Naruto ever got along. They were like night and day and yet they seemed to get along pretty well! Sure, they fought a lot but they were_ friendly_ arguments…sort of.

~Sakura's Party, Itachi and Sakura's apartment~

"Okay, its cake time!" Naruto rushed forward, only barely allowing Sakura to cut in front of him. It _was _her birthday, after all. But he made sure that he was next in line, and made double sure to take the two largest pieces!

Everyone sat down, sparing a second to glare at the blonde glutton, and after a hearty round of "Happy Birthday" (consisting mostly of Naruto's megaphone-volume bellowing) Hinata turned to her plate, staring at the pile of frosting now burying her cake. And Naruto's slices were suspiciously bald…

"Do you ever think before you act, idiot?" Sasuke intoned. "What if she doesn't want your frosting?" He glanced boredly between Naruto and the sugary heap.

"'What if she doesn't want your frosting?'" Naruto mimicked in a falsetto.

"Your voice is higher than mine!"

"As if!"

"I've seen female rabbits with more testosterone than you."

"What a low blow!"

"Not that that a low blow would hurt you-"

"_Too far_!" Naruto grabbed Hinata's plate and flung it at Sasuke, smearing the man's crisp black button-down with pink frosting!

* * *

><p>Naruto still had pink in all the wrong places.<p>

…not that he thought there were any _right_ places for pink, because pink is girly, and Naruto is not.

"Yeah, it _has _been a while. I'm surprised we still get paid so well, what with us not doing anything…"

The idea made Hinata slightly queasy. It was true; they _were_ being paid for nothing. Hinata knew that the main branch, the one that Jiraiya himself managed, was doing very well. And Naruto's part wasn't doing so badly…they got enough errands to entertain them (read: Hinata). But the quantity of paperwork was usually a meager, one-person job. Hinata was, by then, well aware that Naruto's primary reason for hiring her was for companionship and she was fine with that. Naruto made great company himself, and he was the reason she _enjoyed_ coming to work. But still, she knew that she could contribute more actual work somewhere else.

"Yo, Hinata?" Naruto raised an eyebrow in her direction, hand covering his cell phone's speaker. "Two pizzas. Meat lovers and…?"

It took a second for the wires in her brain to spark. "Oh uh…pizza?"

"That's a given…what sort?" Hinata gave a small shrug. "You've…never had pizza, have you?"

Naruto was the pinnacle of ease, sitting with his feet crossed on his desk, pizza box perched precariously on his legs as he stuffed two stacked slices of pizza into his mouth. The spicy barbecue sauce glazing his fingers only added to the awesomeness. They should make a pizza ramen…or a buffalo wing ramen. How would that work? Ah, Teuchi was a ramen _genius_, he could figure it out.

Hinata was the pinnacle of poise, delicately lifting a napkin-blotted slice to her face with her ankles crossed and her back straight. Pizza was…a new experience for her. Her food _never_ came from a box, was _never _shiny with grease (which Hinata found almost repulsive) and the fact that the box had to specify that it used real cheese was extremely disturbing…

"Whatcha fink, Hina-ah?" her boss asked, mouth full with pizza and those little liquid-covered pieces of meat. He said they were "buffalo wings," but Hinata figured he was just toying with her. Buffalo did not have wings, and hunting them was illegal anyways.

"I-interesting textures…this cheese is awfully…"

"Gooey? Stringy?"

Hinata had no idea how to respond to that. It sounded accurate…and disgusting. Her ringing cell phone pulled her away from the contemplation of "gooey" and "stringy." The tone wasn't familiar, though.

"This is Hinata Hyuga."

"_It's Neji_."

She looked back at the phone, wondering why his caller ID didn't appear. Did he change his number? "Ah, did your n-number ch-change?"

"_No, my job did. I'm using my work number. Tell me_," Hinata sighed; she should have known this wasn't just a friendly call to a relative, "_you aren't actually working for Naruto Uzumaki, are you_?"

"W-what?"

"_Ridiculous spiked blonde hair, empty-looking blue eyes_-"

"I-I know…yes, I work for him."

She could hear her cousin release a deep breath. "Let me speak to him." Hinata hesitated before standing and walking towards Naruto's desk, not really sure how to approach this. "M-my cou…Neji Hyuga wishes to talk with you." Naruto's face darkened, making Hinata feel as though the two knew each other.

"Hullo, it's Naruto."

"_Listen, Hinata has been raised as a productive, proper member of society and if you taint her with your crass street behavior-"_

"Whoa, whoa! A, I didn't even know she was your cousin!" _Although the last name should have been a dead give-away. _"B, I don't 'taint' people, I inspire them. And four," he grinned, knowing how much that annoyed the brown-haired man on the other end, "my _what _street behavior?"

Hinata wished she could hear Neji's half of the conversation, because if Naruto's was any indication she'd have to intervene soon.

"_You sound stupid enough as it is, there's no reason for you to be so on purpose!_" _Ooooh _went the little audience in Naruto's head at the insult he'd already heard a thousand times! But if Naruto was good at anything, (which of course he was, he was just that awesome) it was picking out people's weaknesses. And Neji's, it seemed, was his family's honor.

"Now now, is that any way to speak to your future cousin in-law?" he walked over and put his arm around Hinata's shoulders to, _ahem_, get into character. "I was even going to make you my best man at the wedding."

"_WEDDING?" _

"Why yes, me and my little Bunny will be tying the knot in…May." He informed him, choosing the next month. Hinata looked at him, confusion and embarrassment swirling around in her eyes. Naruto winked, which surprisingly enough didn't do anything to allay her fears!

"_If…if this is just some sick joke, you'll be sor…_"

"I'm sorry, what was that? Hinata was…_distracting_ me." Hinata's eyes widened and she stepped away quickly, looking more and more uncomfortable! Naruto, figuring that he was probably pushing this too far, decided to end the conversation quickly. Plus, Neji's yelling was starting to hurt his ears. "Kidding! I was joking about the whole thing. No wedding, no 'Bunny', nothin'." He listened to Neji's threats for a few more seconds and then quickly shut the phone.

"S-sir? What w-was that about?" Hinata slowly sat back down at her desk and resumed typing her e-mail to Kiba, trying to be nonchalant.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, Neji and I have this…thing. We met at this multi-company meet-up, and he automatically decided he didn't like me."

"Y-you don't seem to keen on t-trying to change that."

"Nah, messing with him is too much fun." He sauntered over to the window, sunshine lighting his hair so it looked like the sun itself. "Hey, Hinata?"

"Yes sir?"

"Have you ever played Lazer-Tag?"

* * *

><p>…yeah, that's the end. : ( I'm kinda failing ya, guys. School is sucking away my writing time and my brain power. But I promise it'll get better ^.^ See you at the next chapter! ~Ninjy.<p> 


	9. Decision

**Uhm…there aren'tenough words to describe how sorry I am, so hopefully all the words in this chapter will help! I introduce another character here, one that probably 99.9 percent of you will love to meet! It's also been months since I did any creative writing, so I apologize in advance if it's not up to snuff:/**

Hinata's teeth rattled slightly as the vest buzzed again. It was obvious that her boss was very skilled at laser tag!

It was equally obvious that Hinata was not.

She padded to a new area of the dark arena, trying to avoid walking too close to the colorful lights streaming through the obstacles. But it did her no good, because Naruto knew no rules…or he just chose to _ignore _them.

"Hey, Hinata!" she turned to find the blonde straddling the top of a wall obstacle, gun pointed at her hip. Before she could even open her mouth to protest Naruto pulled the trigger, sending her vest into yet another fit of trembling! He quickly rolled to the other side out of her view with a heavy thud, and his footsteps started to fade as he ran to come up with another strategy.

_I__…__I __have __to __find __some __way __to __impress __him!_Having been his target for the twelfth time only made her want to try harder. She sat down, huffing as the vest jut into her side._This __jacket __is __just__…__w-wait__…__what __if __I__…__?_As quietly as she could manage, she pressed the buckles of the jacket and quietly slipped it off, laying it against the down. Unfortunately, the gun was attached to it, but Hinata shrugged and crouched to the floor, waddling towards the footsteps that could only be Naruto's: he rented out the arena for just the two of them.

_The __way __he __throws __his __money __around __is __almost __similar __to __F-Father__'__s__…_ The thought was almost too terrible to even think! Finally, she came upon Naruto, his cocky grin highlighted by the circles on his jacket. She followed him as he stealthily crept back to where Hinata had left her jacket lying on the ground.

"Lying down, eh? She didn't even ask if I wanted to join her!" his quiet comment caused her to stumble, arms flailing as she stood on the tiptoes of one foot! Luckily she was able to regain her balance without a sound! Naruto rushed behind the jacket and aimed at it.

"Snooze you lose, Hina-huh?" he stared at the empty jacket and Hinata threw all her weight against him! He stumbled and dropped his gun, which Hinata quickly grabbed and aimed, causing Naruto's jacket to blink and vibrate for the first time that night.

Naruto stared at the gun in her hand, amusement and shock mixing on his face. "You…when…" Hinata dropped the gun and stepped back. "You clever little cheater! I didn't think you had it in you." he grinned, and Hinata hoped the darkness concealed her blush. "C'mon, let's go out for lunch! My treat."

Hinata nodded with a smile, and Naruto grabbed her wrist and pulled her out into the bright afternoon sunshine. Both rubbed their eyes, blinded for the moment. Then they walked across the street (Naruto recklessly so) and into the burger joint, where Naruto ordered a double bacon cheeseburger minus the veggies and mustard, and Hinata ordered a salad with no dressing. Just as Naruto was pulling out his wallet to pay for the order, his phone buzzed in his chest pocket.

Naruto glanced at the screen, then sighed and turned to the cashier. "Ah…can we get that to go, please?" he snatched the bag and walked out of the restaurant, Hinata following him to the car silently. "Sorry, Hinata. Jiraiya just texted me. I guess there's someone coming to the office at two-thirty." Hinata glanced down at her watch and quickened her pace. It was two-fifteen, and the office was only ten minutes away, but she wanted to make sure the office was orderly enough.

~3:10~

"Are you _sure_ he said two-thirty?" Naruto asked into the phone. Jiraiya's angry voice barely reached over to Hinata's desk. "Alright, alright! But he's not here! Do you think something happened to him?"

Suddenly the speaker on Naruto's desk beeped as the desk clerk paged in. "Mr. Uzumaki, your…ahem, your two-thirty has arrived."

"Finally! Send him in." Light footsteps tapped lazily on the stairs outside the door, followed by a single light knock. "Come in."

The door swung forward to reveal a man in a navy blue sweater, with matching blue slacks. He had a book in his hand, and Hinata recognized it as one of Jiraiya's own creations. _M-maybe __he __has __a __complaint?_ She looked to read the emotion in his eyes…eye. His left eye was covered by a patch, and his mouth, chin, and cheeks were hidden behind a plain blue bandana. His right eye was glancing at her and Naruto calmly, not angrily...

"Hello there. I'm Kakashi Hatake." His voice was light and confident. "I'm sorry for being late; I got lost on the path of…12th Street. A long, confusing road that one." Naruto turned to Hinata and rolled his eyes, then turned back to the hidden man.

"Don't play dumb, Kakashi! I _know _who you are."

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, you aren't the only one in the room, remember?" he tilted his head in Hinata's direction.

Naruto figured it was a great time to change the subject! "I should have KNOWN it was you! Who else shows up almost an hour late to a meeting? 'Lost on the path of 12th street'? Dude, _I_ _know __that __line_."

Kakashi stared at him. "Are you sure we celebrated your twenty-first birthday, and not your _seventh_?"

"Kakashi, I turned _twenty-one_. Do you really think I actually _remember _it?"

_Not __again__…__he __a-always __seems __to __cause __friction __with __the __people __he__'__s __close __to__…_ "Sir? I take it you two know e-each other fairly well?"

"Oh…yeah, Jiraiya had this guy show me the ropes of business. Uh, Kakashi, this is my assistant Hinata Hyuga. Hinata, this…he already said his name." He turned back to the man. "What're you doing here?"

"What, I can't just drop by for a-" _bing!_Hinata's computer squealed, signaling her e-mail. Hinata stood there, not wanting to be rude and drop out of the conversation. "As I was saying…I just wanted to come and visit. I haven't seen you in about four months after all."

Naruto nodded with a one-sided smile. "Yeah, it has been a while, hasn't it? Go ahead, sit down." Naruto stood and walked over to the chairs in front of his desk, taking one for himself as Kakashi did the same. "You can go to your computer, Hinata. We're just gonna talk about nothing." Hinata nodded politely and went to her desk.

"So, you're still reading the Old Perv's books then? They're so boring…"

"Perhaps you're just not mature enough to enjoy them, Naruto."

"Hey, I'm plenty mature, so shut up!" Kakashi looked at him for a moment, and then his eye softened.

"So, Naruto…any word from Sasuke?" Naruto's face lit up, surprising Kakashi.

"Yeah! Actually, we met up for dinner, and he came to Sakura's birthday party! Isn't that great?"

Meanwhile Hinata stared hard at her screen, wondering if Kiba was being serious.

_Hinata,_

_I got the e-mail you sent, about how things have been slow over there. I know that must be bugging you, being the workaholic that you are. Things have been non-stop around here, and we could always use more help. _

_Interested?_

Her first reaction was happiness at the idea of being useful. Then she felt guilty for even thinking of it. Naruto had been nothing but kind to her, to have even hired her in the first place! But…what was she really accomplishing here? Naruto didn't really need her. When he actually applied himself he was quite competent. But she'd grown to really enjoy her time with the blonde man…but…she shook her head, a thousand thoughts running through her head.

"I don't think that's true, Naruto. Ramen can't grant you superhuman strength. How old are you, anyways?"

"Hey, you can't question my age twice in one day! We can't all be forty-two!

"You're about nine years off."

"You're fifty-one?"

"Thirty-three! But you added with an impressive speed, I'll admit."

_Kiba,_

_Thank you for the offer, but._

She shook her head, knowing the right thing to do.

To go where she's needed.

_I accept. I'll turn in my notice tonight. _


	10. Naruto hates spelling and salad

WARNING: DO NOT TRY CHUBBY BUNNY AT HOME. Unless you want to, that is. But be careful!

Now, please enjoy the-oh, wait. Naruto is still not mine. Alright, _now_ enjoy the story!

* * *

><p>"Hey, Hinata. Guess what just got delivered for you."<p>

"More flowers?"

"I'll…I'll just set 'em with the others." Kiba scowled as he placed the large, expensive-looking bouquet down, the seventh one in three days. "Naruto's not going to let you go easily. What, is he bribing you to come back?"

"N-no! He's wishing me luck in my new job, that's all."

"Mm-hmm. One bouquet I could understand, but seven? I don't think he's just saying good luck."

Hinata turned back to her papers silently, trying to return her focus to the adoption papers on her desk. Not to mention the three packets waiting behind it.

It had only been three days since she'd left her job for the Shelter, but the paperwork load was almost even already. Not to say that her last job didn't give her any work, it's just…her new job was a _lot_ of work. Hinata shook her head, trying to focus, but she couldn't help wondering how Naruto was doing.

* * *

><p>One. "Chubby bunny." <em>Too easy.<em>

Three more. "Chubby bu-k!-bunny." _Oops, almost choked there._

Another three. "Chuffy buddy." _…close enough. _

Not five minutes later, Naruto reached his limit. _Haha, twenty-six! Beat that, Sasuke! I…I…can't breathe! Holy crap! _He smashed his hand onto his speaker, eliciting a monotone "Hello?" from Takahashi behind the clerk's desk.

"Ah…agh…chuf…"

"Have you been eating marshmallows again? I'll be up in a moment." Soon enough a dark-haired man came into his office without knocking, and holding a rather large pair of tweezers. He glanced at Naruto to make sure he hadn't died yet and then grabbed the trash can. With the tweezers, he grabbed one marshmallow-they were all melted together at that point-and tugged.

The white mush fell into the trash, and Naruto ran his tongue over his teeth, reaching for his wallet at the same time. "Thanks, man. You saved my life again!" He gave the poor clerk 26 dollars, "One for every marshmallow."

Takahashi thanked him and walked downstairs, already knowing what he was going to spend it on. He was going to buy a bunch of shots and wish this job didn't pay so well so he'd have more motivation to quit! On the way down, he saw the pink haired girl who usually came by- Flower or something. She sauntered by without even glancing at him and walked straight into Naruto's office.

"Oh, hey Sakura. How's it going?"

"Fairly well. And you?"

"I'm alright." Sakura nodded-Naruto told her about Hinata's leaving during her last visit. Although she understood perfectly why Hinata decided to move on, that didn't make her any less ticked that Hinata would do that to Naruto. He was like Sakura's brother-her _annoying_ little brother-and she could tell that Hinata's leaving had crushed him, although he was doing his best not to show it.

She walked up to his desk and couldn't help but notice a shining white mound in the trash can.

"What _is_ that, exactly?"

"Twenty-six marshmallows." Naruto grinned, remembering his younger days on the street with Sasuke. When Sasuke's mom dropped by to check on him, Sasuke asked-on Naruto's behalf, of course-for bags of marshmallows. For almost a year, Naruto had been the undisputed Chubby Bunny champion. But one day, Sasuke managed to hold in twenty-five marshmallows, beating Naruto's record by four! And _finally_ Naruto was the champ once again!

The tale had been told to Sakura on more than one occasion, much to her chagrin. "So, you beat Sasuke's record then? You realize if you tell him he'll only try to take his spot as Number One back."

"Let him try!" Naruto stood, pride shining in his eyes. "I'll just come back with a vengeance the likes of which he's never seen! He's gonna-"

"Alright, alright! I get it. Now, what workout are we going to do today?" she asked him sweetly. The blood drained from his face and his eyes widened.

"W-well I, I uh…" he gulped, and Sakura rolled her eyes. The last session found him collapsed on the floor _again_, while Sakura watched with barely suppressed laughter.

"You think you'd be able to do these workouts easily, considering we've been doing them two days a week _for three years._"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her, only daring to do so because she was in a good mood. But that didn't stop her from glaring fiercely at him and causing a spike of fear to flow through him. "Well…the workouts make me hungry, so I eat afterwards."

"Eat _what_, exactly?" When he didn't answer she glanced at his desk, looking for discriminating evidence. An ad on the Yellow pages caught her eye.

"_Pizza! _How could you fill yourself with something so unhealthy, especially after a workout?"

"Actually, I work out so I can eat pizza without feeling guilty."

"You should feel guilty anyways!" She looked back down at the book, and noticed an order sheet for bouquets underneath it and sighed quietly.

Confused, Naruto glanced down to see what the matter was. "Oh. I uh…I just want to make sure she's doing okay."

"Has she written back?"

"She's just busy adjusting, that's all. She'll respond when she has time."

"Maybe you could try to hire a new assistant?" He shook his head-Hinata had offered to find him one, after she told him about the job offer. He had refused; he wasn't ready to move onto a new assistant, even though he didn't understand _why _he wasn't; they'd become close, but it wasn't like they were…_more_, or anything.

* * *

><p>Hinata lifted her lettuce ridden fork to her mouth, while Kiba chomped onto a burger across the small round table.<p>

"So," Kiba began, covering his still-full mouth, "any news from what's-his-face?"

"_Naruto_." She corrected quietly. She knew he only said that to spite the blonde man. "No, not since the bouquet yesterday."

Kiba grunted and paused to say "Spending a lot of money," before taking another bite.

"He…he tends to be a little…_loose _with his money." She knew it wasn't the best defense, but then again she wasn't really sure how to defend her boss. It was true; the bouquets he'd sent her surely wouldn't have been cheap. Kiba always had something negative to say about it-he once even implied Naruto sent them to make her feel guilty.

That was possibly the first time Hinata had ever yelled at Kiba.

She would not hear anything negative about Naruto. He had been a wonderful employer, but Hinata hadn't been able to shake off the feeling that she wasn't working where she was _needed_; where she could make a true difference.

Kiba chewed his food, feeling sort of guilty as he studied Hinata's worn face. He didn't _mean _to be the devil's advocate. He knew Hinata and Naruto had chemistry-he could see it on either of their faces-and it was hard for him to watch.

She was like his little sister. Sure, he flirted with her a little, but it was harmless. He knew it wouldn't go anywhere, nor did he intend for it to. Admittedly, he was still jealous of her spending time with another guy, especially one so obnoxious! And he was worried for her. Hinata was so shy, and Naruto was so…_not_. He'd quickly take control of their whole relationship, and Hinata was too gentle to stand up for herself. He knew she wasn't weak-far from it-and she could defend herself against someone who really meant her harm. But anyone she considered a friend? She'd pretty much do anything to keep them happy, even if it meant sacrificing her own happiness. And Kiba was _not _going to let that happen!

* * *

><p>Naruto walked down the street, chagrined that the summer heat wasn't doing his worn, aching body any favors. Sakura was taking him for "celebratory" salads. Right, <em>that's <em>gonna motivate him to work out more. But it was nice to hang out with her, so he kept his thoughts to himself. But the silence was gonna kill him.

"So…how're things with you and Itachi?"

Sakura smiled. "Great. He's been working a lot lately, but we went for a walk yesterday and spent about an hour arguing about his love of dango. I told him it was too unhealthy for him to eat it as much as he does. He said he exercises enough, so it shouldn't matter."

"That's how I feel about pizza!"

"Well, you're both wrong! Calories aren't the only issue…pizza has almost no nutritional value!"

"I can't spell 'nutritional'."

"I figured that. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"If I can't spell a word, then it doesn't affect me. That's why I always spell 'work' with a 'U'. I can't work if I can't spell the word right."

Sakura could have laughed. She could have told him how stupid that sounded. She could have even hit him upside the head. But she thought of something better.

"W. A. T. E. R."

"…water?" He instantly regretted that when he saw the spark in her eyes.

Suddenly his face was dripping, and his shirt was soaked. And Sakura just stood there smiling, her now-empty water bottle dripping.

"Very good! I guess water can affect you, since you can spell _that_." Naruto frowned and then pulled off his shirt, baring his chest and stomach to the public.

"_Put your shirt back on!_" Sakura screeched, while Naruto shook the orange tee dry. She looked away, but not before noting that the work outs were serving him well.

Naruto glanced at her, then grinned and threw the fabric over his shoulder. "Nah, I think I'll do all the ladies a favor."

"Yeah, as if." He raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged. "Fine, do what you want, but don't come crying to me if you get a ticket for indecent exposure."

"I won't." he said confidently.

She knew she shouldn't ask…but she had to. "Why wouldn't you?"

"Because I don't know how to spell 'indecent exposure'."

* * *

><p>Hinata plopped gratefully onto her couch, glad to be home. Dinner was cooking on the stove. It was zenzai, her favorite. And now she just had to relax and wait for it to cook…<p>

She was roused by the smell of burnt caramel._ The zenzai!_ She and jerked to a stand and sprinted to the kitchen. The outer edges of the soup were black, and charred flakes floated on a red background. But to be sure, she took a spoon and scooped some out of the pot. The texture was alright…she blew on it gently, and then took a sip. She stiffened, but forced herself to swallow the bitter liquid. _Oooh, and I was looking forward to it! _She berated herself on falling asleep on the job, and grabbed her purse with a sigh. Maybe it was meant to be a salad night instead.

As she walked into the small restaurant and smelled all the fresh produce, she immediately felt better. It wasn't red-bean soup, but there was nothing quite like the fresh crunch of a spinach salad, teeming with egg and mandarin oranges, and maybe even some crumbled blue cheese if she felt like indulging herself, which she did.

The restaurant was quiet, save for one man who complained loudly in a rough voice. A voice that Hinata would never forget…Hinata turned and, sure enough, saw Naruto pouting at Sakura while she pointed at all the vegetables behind the glass display. He looked around-probably looking for someone who shared his distaste-and Hinata nervously turned her back to him, pretending to study some potted foliage.

"Hey…I know that hair! Hinata! HINATAAA!" She looked back, glancing guiltily between him and the other glaring customers. She put on a smile and trotted towards her former boss, who at the moment was getting an earful from his pink haired escort.

"…and I don't even know where to begin on your manners in public! Taking off your shirt in the middle of town, and then shouting like a moron in a restaurant…"

"Hey, I wouldn't have taken my shirt off if you hadn't viciously attacked me with water!"

"Oh, I'll _show_ you vic-"

"Hinata! It's good to see you! It's been what, two weeks now?" He piped up, happy for a change in subject.

"…four days, actually." He looked genuinely surprised. "But it _has _felt longer. I…I got the bouquets, by the way. I was going to write you, but I've been so busy trying to adjust-"

"See? I _told _you, Sakura!" Naruto boasted, but he withered under her glare and sidled closer to Hinata, seeking protection.

"…s-so, thank you very much Naruto!" She smiled at him, and he grinned in response.

"No problem!"

Sakura turned back to the menu. "What are you getting, Naruto?"

"I-I didn't know you started eating salad!" Hinata commented.

"I _didn't_. I just came along for the ride…or walk, I guess." Sakura ignored him and ordered two salads anyway, but she did order one with lots of meat, bacon, and blue cheese, looking disgusted all the while. Hinata ordered hers, and Naruto invited Hinata to join them.

"I…I'd love to but…" _I couldn't take the guilt._ "I still have to clean up the mess I made at home."

Naruto's face fell slightly, but he also looked curious. "_You_? Making a _mess_?"

"Uh…yes. Y-you see, I was going to have zenzai at home, but I accidentally burned it. That's why I came here."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry about your meal, but I'm kind of glad you burned your food. It's good to see you!"

"Y-you too…I promise to t-try to keep in touch more." Naruto's face lit up again, and Hinata forced a smile onto her face as she bid them farewell and took her leave, trying to ignore the lump in her throat.


	11. I'm baaaaaaaaack! if you'll accept me

Oh my goodness…is anyone even still around? I've been gone for so long…if anyone's reading this, I'M SO SORRY! I had a lot on my plate, but more than that I kind of lost my inspiration to write. Just know that I really DID intend on finishing these stories (with a few exceptions…) And maybe I still will! I just want to know, do you guys hate me? Do you want me to continue, despite the ridiculous time gap? I haven't written anything story-like in forever, so I can't promise speed, since I need to get back in the swing of things. But if you guys want it, I'll do it! Thanks for all the support so far, and I hope you guys can forgive me

~Ashlea


	12. Return!

**Hey! I know I got you guys all excited a few weeks ago and then nothing, but I didnt mean to! I'll try really hard to post a chapter at least once a month. That's probably the best I can do, but I'll do...well, my best! Thanks for sticking by me, and I hope you enjoy! 3 Ninjy**

_I hope Hinata isn't in this funk for too long. I hate seeing her like this. _Kiba was not-so-secretly looking over at her, noting her slightly slumped posture. Of course, it was how _normal _people sat, but Hinata was always poised and upright…unless something was bothering her. Like now. She had also been extra quiet lately. And Kiba knew exactly what was wrong, although he was trying everything in his power to come up with some other issue.

She missed her old boss, Naruto. He couldn't fathom WHY anyone would want him as company, but it was obvious she did. He thought really hard about this blonde man that seemed to have taken Hinata's heart. He supposed…no, even under different circumstances, the man was an obnoxious, cocky idiot. But his heart seemed to be in the right place, which was more than he could have asked from some of Hinata's _previous_ suitors. He had always been there to protect her-most of the guys didn't get her subtle messages, and she was too gentle to push them away too harshly. Kiba, however, had no such qualms. But Naruto…ugh! How could one blonde pest cause so much trouble!?

"Hey, Hinata…I'm going to take Akamaru out for a walk. Don't work too hard, 'kay?" Hinata looked up briefly from her inch-tall pile of papers and smiled at him. "Okay, Kiba. Enjoy yourself!"

The man walked out the front doors and down the street, with a huge white dog-his constant companion, Akamaru. As Kiba sulked along the trail of some random park, his dog ran close by chasing squirrels and leaves. Kiba snapped his head up as he heard a cry of distress. It came from a girl about his age, with short strawberry blonde hair. She looked too small to be herding eight leashed dogs –a few of them probably outweighed her!

The dogs were staring at Akamaru, and nearly pulled the girl to the ground several times trying to get to him. Kiba's companion just looked at them boredly. Kiba stepped towards the girl and barked (pun intended) a single command: "_Down!_" Startled, the eight wild canines immediately stopped their crazy barking and sat in an orderly fashion. The girl gaped at him with a mix of confusion and awe.

"Howchudothat!?" she wondered, trying to catch her breath. Kiba grinned, and she plopped to the ground, exhausted. Her charges still sat there, awaiting orders from their sudden alpha.

"I help my family run an animal shelter. I've learned a few tricks in my time." Kiba grinned cockily, imagining himself as a sort of god over canines. "My question is, why are you killing yourself trying to walk so many dogs?"

She rolled her eyes. Yeah, she _seemed_ fairly kind, but she obviously had a feisty streak. Kiba appreciated that. "Uh, for money? I don't like what I'm doing now, but I do love animals. I'm just dog sitting until I can get a job that pays better. Anyways, I'm Miroko. Thanks for the help."

"Kiba. And I'm not done yet!"

Hinata watched the door close behind her friend, and sighed quietly. Part of her wanted to just stand up, just to stretch her legs. But she couldn't bring herself to leave the desk with so much work on it, even for a minute. She remembered how back with Naruto there was…no! Thinking about Naruto was too painful for her. And possibly the worst part was she didn't know _why_ it was so hard to think about him. It's not like they _broke up_. They stopped being coworkers. _Right, that's all he was. He was your boss. He was a kind, funny, handsome…BOSS! _

She laid her head on her crossed arms, groaning. It shouldn't be so hard! She's known Kiba for years-she'd known Naruto for a few months. Why wasn't she happy doing meaningful work alongside a close friend? _Actually, Naruto was a pretty good friend too…_but this wasn't about Naruto! This was about her working at a place that actually had work to be done. She had to usually create her own work at her last job. She stood and rubbed her neck, realizing she wasn't going to get any work done with all this running through her head. She wondered what her father would think if he knew she was letting personal matters affect her work. _No, best not even think about it. _

Hinata twitched as a _click _echoed through the room. It came from the door, through which Kiba came in, leading in a rather pretty girl with short reddish hair and an excited but wary expression. Kiba had his "I'm a genius" grin that he wore so often. Hinata feared that look.

"Hello, Kiba. And…" Hinata trailed off, having never seen the girl before.

"Miroko. Kiba and I just met, in the park."

Hinata nodded. That explained _who _she was, buy why was she here? She didn't want to sound rude so she didn't ask out loud, but she hoped someone would explain.

Thankfully Kiba did. But Hinata wasn't sure she liked the answer. "She's uh…she's here to take your place."

"T-take my place? But why, did I do something wrong?" She'd only been working there for a few weeks, so it was understandable that she'd make a few mistakes, right?

"No! Hinata, you've been great, and it's been awesome working with you, but you and I both know that you miss Naruto-working with him, that is." He couldn't admit that she'd be leaving for _him_.

She didn't want to admit it at first, either. She'd always thought she was disciplined enough to put work before personal matters, but… "I…thank you, Kiba." She smiled, and was almost surprised by the weight lifted off her shoulders. "I'll just pack my stuff and-"

"Nah, just go! We can get your stuff for you, right Miroko?"

The girl grinned. "Totally. Now, go get your man…I mean boss!"

Hinata turned, and almost skipped out the door, to the man she'd been thinking of nonstop.

_I'm back, Naruto! _

"And three and four! One, and-_Naruto_! Buck up! You're almost done."

"Fifteen…more…is NOT..._gasp_...almost…" he trailed off, his arms flapping pathetically as he finished his third round of jumping jacks. Sakura had said they'd be doing the basics today. Naruto had expected that to mean laying on those giant balls, or yoga or something. Apparently "basics" meant "these exercises _seem_ simple but are still deadly. Narutos beware." He was down to nine when his phone vibrated on his desk. It was only a text, but to the tortured blonde it was the trumpet of merciful angels. He half-lurched, half-flailed over to the desk, his legs burning.

Hey, it's Kiba. You fill Hinata's spot yet?

Naruto almost slammed the phone down right there. He didn't blame Hinata for leaving: she just goes where she's needed. _Kiba_, on the other hand, offered her the job in the first place, when he KNEW she was already employed.

But Kiba wouldn't bother him unless it was something important, so he sent back:

No.

Good, you're about to get her back.

Naruto dialed him immediately. "What's the big idea, huh?! Hinata isn't just something to trade back and forth! What makes you th-"

"_Hang on! You know that's not what I mean. I…she needs…"_

"What? Spit it out!"

"_She needs to be over there, where she can be happy." _Kiba explained. The words scratched his throat, but he knew this was for the best. When Miroko told him she needed a job, he decided to hire her for Hinata's position. That way, Miroko wasn't stuck walking dogs, Hinata could go back to doing the job she liked, and the shelter would still be taken care of.

Naruto stood over his desk, trying to grasp the implications here. _Hinata's not happy over there? But…she is here? _He spoke into the phone, slowly. "So…she's really coming back? And she's okay with that?"

"_Well…I didn't exactly ask her opinion. I just kind of told her we had someone who needed the job more, and she left. She's always just doing what's best for others."_

"Yeah, I noticed. But what if she doesn't come back to me, huh? What if she feels so bad about leaving that she just-"

_*knockknockknock* _the quietest taps Naruto had ever heard echoed from his door.

"N-Naruto, sir? May I come in?"

Hinata was standing outside his doorway, desperately hoping he'd take her back.


	13. Naruto doesnt like Hinata's guests much

Naruto smiled as the quiet clack of a keyboard danced in his ears. It was just Hinata writing an e-mail, but to him it was so much more; it was the sound of companionship. When Hinata had left, Naruto kept a constant stream of music and comedy shows via his computer, but it wasn't enough for him. He couldn't just interrupt Kevin Hart in the middle of his show to start up a conversation. And Kevin wasn't nearly as easy to look at as Hinata. In fact, Naruto found himself struggling to _not_ look at her; she'd already caught him at it three times, but she just blessed him with a small smile and turned back to her glowing monitor.

The only part of Hinata that he was having problems with was the expression in her eyes as she looked at him. It was the kind of emotion that could put you in the slammer faster than you could throw on an orange suit (which even Naruto wouldn't wear. They just weren't cool enough.)

Hinata was full of guilt; Naruto could see it in her eyes, her posture, he could hear it in her voice. Her stutter had fully returned in all its frustrating-yet-adorable glory. She had her back slightly to him and allowed her hair to cover her face. She made it clear that although she wasn't trying to ignore him, she probably wasn't in any condition to hold a conversation with him, which made Naruto feel a little hollow. He'd explained more times than he could count that he didn't blame her in the slightest for going to work for Kiba. What would he expect from a loyal, kind-hearted workaholic? No, any anger he had felt had been directed straight at Kiba, and even that had slowly died down in the three days since Hinata's return.

Naruto's train of thought was completely derailed as the biggest, angriest knock he'd ever heard _and_ seen threatened to knock his door down. Seriously, it was as though an earthquake had just tackled his door! And what was even more concerning was the fact that Takahashi hadn't even announced this man's arrival! Annoyed, Naruto glanced over at Hinata, who looked nearly ready to bolt under the table, her pale eyes large and scared. Okay, now he was just _furious._ Making an entrance is one thing, but startling a gentle person into near terror? SOMEONE was going to be ripped a new one!

_BANGBANGBANG _"If you're in there, open this door! I will not be ignored in such a way!" a cold, proud voice permeated through the door and set Naruto's blood to fire and ice all at once. And if Hinata had been scared before, she now looked as though she'd be prepared to jump right out the two-story window, regardless of the results.

Things just got dangerous.

Naruto stomped to the door, jerked it open with as much angry strength as he could muster, and reached to the bottoms of his lungs. "**HEY!-**"

But that was as far as he could get, considering what he was up against.

Physically, the man wasn't that impressive. Average height, no muscle, plus he was probably in his late thirties. His dark hair would reach past his shoulder blades if he'd release it from its tie. Speaking of ties, the one he was wearing probably cost more than Naruto's entire outfit (okay, so maybe 135000 yen was a lot, but that was including the shoes! They were _custom made._ After living on the streets, wouldn't it be a crime for him _not_ to live it up a little?) This little scrap of expensive navy fabric was tucked into a suit that probably equaled the cost of one of his cars…okay, maybe not _his_ cars, but Hinata's didn't stand a chance.

But Naruto wasn't the least bit concerned with any of those details. He'd mingled with people just as harsh-looking more times than a bottle of bourbon and years of therapy could touch. It was his eyes that stopped the blonde cold, not the smoldering icy expression in them, but the icy color that he'd only seen on one other person, the same eyes that had only been a good memory until that day.

This man had Hinata's eyes.

"Hinata's here." The man's voice was so monotone Naruto couldn't tell if he was being asked a question or told a fact. And frankly Naruto didn't feel like acknowledging his question/statement, or bringing Hinata into this, no matter if he knew her.

However, the man stood there drilling into Hinata with his eyes, so Naruto felt the need to take his attention. "My employee? Yes, she's in the office with a lot of work to do. So if you could go talk to the man downstairs and make an _appoint-_"

"You haven't been answering your Grandmother's calls, Hinata. She's upset. And when she has to call me, I become upset. You see your fault here." He wasn't _asking _her if she knew what she did wrong. He didn't _ask _if something was wrong to make her not want to pick up the phone. He simply told her she'd made a mistake, one he was obviously very agitated about having to address.

"I-I would try a-and…." Hinata was having a terrible time controlling her voice, to her complete humiliation and frustration. If she wanted to stop stuttering, she squeaked and her volume was nonexistent. If she tried to make herself heard, she could barely pronounce the first letter! "call, bu-ut you s-see-"

"Enough. I don't want your excuses. The Hyuga reunion your grandmother puts together every year is drawing close. I assume you've made plans to be there." Hinata knew her father didn't "assume" things; he expected them.

Naruto had about had enough. He was struggling to keep quiet, only for Hinata's sake. Even he knew when to shut up sometimes. But he didn't have to wait long, because the man turned to him, his hard eyes like frosted mirrors of Hinata's.

"Hinata's…employer, then." The man glanced at Naruto's orange athletic jacket and black athletic pants. _Why did he have to come on one of my workout days? _Even so, he stood straight and proud and tried to present an image he knew he could never pull off. Naruto didn't have a fraction of this man's shark-like business prowess, and he was pretty sure Hiashi-there was no doubt he was Hinata's father-could smell incompetence.

Naruto figured he reeked of incompetence.

"Yes. Naruto Uzumaki." Hiashi looked expectant. Naruto knew the man expected respect, but Naruto refused to acknowledge Hiashi as his superior. "Hinata's been a crucial addition to this business." Naruto _really _hoped he'd used that word right; by the look on Hinata's face told him not only had he used it correctly, it had been a good word to use!

Hiashi looked like he might sneer if he felt bothered to make any sort of expression, but a knock at the door cut his response off. Sakura, to Naruto's and Hinata's relief walked in. She looked between Naruto's carefully composed face and Hiashi's naturally cold one and decided to stick around.

Not willing to expend any more energy on the blonde child, Hiashi glanced at his daughter once more. "I'll be sure to come find you at the reunion, Hinata." Both a threat and a promise, Hinata knew he'd be true to his word.

He turned and walked out without another word, and Hinata walked over to her desk and slumped into her chair. "Well…that's over." She said in relief.

Naruto, however, wasn't finished. "Oh no, it's not over until I wipe that arrogant smirk off his face! And I thought Sasuke was smug. Compared to Hiashi Sasuke's a freaking…I don't know, but he's not THAT! When's this family thing?" He suddenly turned to Hinata, who was still slumped with her chin resting on her arms. She twitched at his voice.

"Next Friday." Nine days. But it loomed over Hinata just the same. A determined look came over Naruto's face, and Sakura almost feared for the entire Hyuga family. She knew what was coming.

"Alright, Hinata! You and me, we'll show them! Don't worry."

Here we go! I told you I'd try to do better :) I know Hinata's father might seem way too harsh, but a good character needs room to change, you know?


	14. Comfort

I'm just gonna hang my head in absolute shame, beg for your undeserved forgiveness, and hope that this chapter makes up for it a LITTLE bit.

"Hinata, you look fine. Great, even! What're you so-"

"Great isn't nearly good enough for them! Great to an average person is…is…" Hinata quickly lost steam, as usual. However, she gained it back just as quickly, which Naruto was sure couldn't be healthy for anyone's mentality. Hinata seemed _extra _fragile lately, and that was saying something; we're talking paper-thin glass fragile! Hinata's eyes shifted, then landed on a navy blue blouse that was way too modest for Naruto to take any interest in, then slipped back into the changing room.

_I'm not gonna say I regret coming with her, but I didn't think it'd be this freaking boring. All those guys who told me the horror stories of shopping with their girlfriends weren't kidding! _And Naruto didn't even have the benefit of at least knowing he was with his girlfriend, although he was slowly working on it, you can bet on that! No, he mostly agreed-well, he tagged along, she never really _invited_ him-because she was so upset Naruto doubted she could even operate a vehicle, much less buy something Hyuga-worthy without passing out in the store.

Two days had passed since Hinata's father…_visited_ the office. Naruto's suit had actually already been approved by Hinata. It was plain boring black, and he even had a gray shirt and tie to go along with it, which he didn't know he had. Gray was such a boring color…it disturbed him a bit.

Hinata came out and twisted in front of the three-faced mirror, completely focused on judging the blouse. A person could tell she _had _a figure, but the shirt really discouraged any thoughts beyond that. Naruto wasn't sure he could give a fair opinion on it, and he figured Hinata wasn't looking for his advice anyways. She had seemed really surprised (they both had) that he had a suit that her family would approve of.

"This…might…well…uh-"

"Oh, miss!" a store assistant came by, looking to give her own advice apparently. "It looks good on you, but you have such a great figure, it's a shame to see it hidden under all that fabric."

_I like her._

"S-so you think it's m-modest?" Hinata sounded a bit flustered, although Naruto couldn't tell if it was because the assistant was looking her over or if her nerves were just shot. When the woman nodded, Hinata sighed with relief. "Thank you, I'll take it!" The sales lady looked at her for a second, utterly confused, and then nodded and strutted to the check-out counter. Hinata quickly retreated to the changing room and came back out with the blue fabric clutched in her hand. After the shirt was rung up and paid for, they got into Chopsticks (Naruto was still ticked that there was a freaking _waltz _named that) and headed towards the office…

At least, that's what Hinata _thought _was going to happen. But as they drove past the turn that would've taken them back, she realized Naruto had different ideas. She looked over to him, and he responded, as casually as he could sound "Oh, I thought we could swing by my place for a while-Choppy's running low on gas, and I don't feel like visiting a station. Plus, I want to show you around while the staff's off duty."

"You have a staff…?" she couldn't say she was all that surprised, given his spending habits, but it did catch her off guard.

"Yeah, I have a couple of cleaning people who come every three days or so, and I have a chef or two who whip up some meals that I can freeze and eat later. 'Cause as much as I love ramen even I know I gotta eat something else from time to time." He smiled as he turned down a road that led to a series of small condos. "Almost there!" Hinata studied the landscape a few miles behind all the buildings but didn't see an orange roof towering in the background. "I'm sorry, I can't see it…is it still down a few miles?"

Naruto looked over at her with a wry smile on his face. "S'not a mansion, Hinata. I live in that building right…there." He pointed to a tall gray condo building, up near the top. "I live on the very top floor! Cool, isn't it?" he exclaimed as they turned into the parking lot. Hinata nodded, but she was still puzzled. She could have sworn… "But I thought you had a garage, for your cars?"

"Wull, if you'd gimme a sec to get us there! And Jiraiya says I'm impatient!" Naruto grinned, and Hinata realized that they hadn't stopped in the parking lot. A few seconds later they did in fact come upon an enormous garage, painted a muted and rather lovely shade of orange. But it only seemed big enough to fit maybe eight cars side-by-side. "A personal garage?"

"Yup! I know what you're thinking: 'Why the expensive taste in clothes and cars, but you don't live in a mansion to match?' Well, I tried that once; kind of lonely, to be honest." Naruto didn't explain any farther, and Hinata didn't ask him to. She understood loneliness, although definitely not in the same way he did.

He opened the garage with a little remote and eased the car in. Hinata stepped out, careful not to hit the other expensive sports car to the side with her door, and they began the short trek back to the condos. Hinata thought they were really nice, actually; she lived in a similar complex, but hers was nearly dead center of town, where it was busiest and where all the shopping centers were. It was really quiet in Naruto's neighborhood, very peaceful. They stepped inside, and Hinata could tell that even if Naruto wasn't in a mansion, he was still very much living in luxury. They stepped into an elevator and began their ascent to the top floor in comfortable silence as Hinata took in the deep mahogany wood and lush burgundy carpet. It wasn't anything new to her, just the opposite in fact, but it wasn't the quality of the building that had her fixed. _This is where Naruto lives…I thought I knew what it would look like, but now I'm not sure what to expect._

The elevator came to a stop, and Hinata stepped out into the cleanest bachelor pad she'd ever seen…not that she'd seen many. Naruto's cleaning staff did a very thorough job. There were a few bowls piled in the sink, and two jackets haphazardly hanging on the back of the couch. It was a beautiful couch, a three-seat white leather sofa, which complimented the glass table. They were the only pieces of furniture she could see, however. No desk, no other chairs, there weren't even stools at the bar. It was an extremely empty apartment. The walls were sparse as well, save for the pictures of Naruto with each of his vehicles. There were also a picture of Naruto with…car girls, Hinata guessed. They wore revealing clothing with racing motifs on them, and Naruto had his arms around two of them as they stood close together for the group photo.

Behind her, Naruto made a noise halfway between a cough and a nervous laugh as he tried to take her attention off the picture, which Naruto suddenly found to be embarrassing. But Hinata just smiled sweetly at him before slowly wandering into the kitchen. She glanced at Naruto, who gave her an approving and even humorous grin, then opened the cabinet.

Ramen. Ramen everywhere.

Every flavor that had ever been in the market had wound up in this man's kitchen. There were even some that Hinata figured were custom-made. _Fish-cake flavored? That sounds repulsive. _She turned to the fridge, which was filled with milk cartons-Hinata grimaced as she got a whiff of expired dairy-and pork, assumedly to put into ramen. She felt the pain of heartburn coming on, so she continued down the hall with her boss wandering a bit behind her. She scoped out the bathroom, which was large and clean and painted in bright shades of white and blue. She found the guest bedroom, which was actually quite cluttered with papers. "Uh…I'm waiting to recycle them?" Naruto offered with a shrug, and Hinata giggled and wandered to the last door, which was slightly opened.

She hesitated in front of Naruto's bedroom, but he just slipped past her and pushed the door open, gesturing grandly. "Ta-da, the piece de resistance!" Hinata giggled again at his poor attempt at French and cautiously entered. She wasn't nervous about…well, about anything _happening_. She was timid about his room because she figured if he had anything really personal it would be in here, and she wondered what she would learn from this brightly lit place. Speaking of bright, she wasn't at all surprised to find an orange wall, but that there was only one was strange. In front of that wall was the bed, a large expanse of Egyptian cotton sheets and silk blankets. _He really bought all of this with his salary? _Jiraiya paid very well, and she assumed Naruto made even more than she did, but it still seemed odd to her. _But it would be rude to ask…_her eyes wandered, and landed on a picture frame whose contents were hidden reflections of light. She gently picked it up, and was perplexed to find Naruto's birth certificate. She'd never seen anyone frame one before.

Naruto stepped up behind her, but his playful attitude had disappeared and he wore a sad smile, eyes glued to the paper. "Old-man Jiraiya gave me that for my 18th birthday. Best gift I ever got, hands down. I didn't even know they _made_ these."

"What, birth certifi…" she stopped as it dawned on her. He'd grown up on the streets. He didn't know people recorded your information at birth; he didn't realize people cared.

"It's the…the only thing that shows that I h-I had…a family." Hinata's hearted fell and shattered as tears started to form in his normally-bright eyes. It was then that she could see the weight of his life pressing down onto his shoulders, the pain and loneliness he'd gone through all those years. She'd always been somewhat bitter about the hand fate had dealt her; a father that she could never impress, a family that judged her every decision. _But at least they were there. _Hinata felt something warm on her face, and opened her tear-filled eyes to look into his. His hands covered her cheeks, and she realized she had reached out for him as well, caressing his tear-streaked face.

"Please. Don't cry for me. It's okay now, I promise." He blessed her with a gentle, heartbroken smile that was hidden as Hinata pressed her lips to his. His hands slid back into her hair and his face tilted to the side. They soon broke apart, only to wrap their arms around each other, each attempting to comfort the one person that mattered most to them.

"I promise too, Naruto. It'll be okay."


End file.
